TSMC "Semiconductor Factory Relocation Impossible... 90% of Production Capacity in Taiwan"

Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry company, has stated that it is impossible to relocate some of its production facilities overseas. Although the issue was discussed with some corporate clients, it was explained that most facilities are located in Taiwan, making relocation difficult.

According to major foreign media, Wei Zhejia, TSMC's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), met with reporters after the company's annual general meeting on the 4th and said, "Considering that 80-90% of our production capacity is in Taiwan, it would be impossible to move factories off the island," adding that discussions about factory relocation were held with some clients. However, he did not disclose which clients or the specific details of the discussions.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

CEO Wei emphasized, "The instability of the Taiwan Strait is a factor to consider in the supply chain, but I want to make it clear that we do not want a war to occur."

TSMC also discussed chip supply with OpenAI, the creator of the generative AI ChatGPT, but mentioned that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was described as "too aggressive to trust." Major foreign media, citing sources, reported that Altman had been in ongoing contact with TSMC last year, discussing cooperation to build 30 factories to secure chips to meet AI demand. Officials clarified that the number of factories proposed by Altman was too high and stated that TSMC would not operate factories at more than 80% of the required capacity.

Regarding the impact of China's pressure on Taiwan on the industry, Frank Huang, Chairman of PSMC, said, "We believe there will be military activities or confrontations, but the Chinese also know that Taiwan is very important for AI," emphasizing, "We are fine and there is no problem."

Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, reiterated the importance of Taiwan in the supply chain, saying, "We do a lot of manufacturing in Taiwan with key suppliers like TSMC." She added, "There are also many partners helping to build the ecosystem here in Taiwan," and stated, "From our perspective, having a global ecosystem is really important."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.