TSMC announces £2 billion Nanking 12" fab plans

Fabrication giant Taiwan Semiconductor, better known as TSMC, has announced that it is to build a 12-inch wafer fabrication facility and design service centre in China's Nanking, as a £2 billion investment in large-wafer production.

Responsible for building silicon for everyone from ARM to Intel - though the latter deal soon ran into trouble - TSMC is one of the largest semiconductor fabricators in the world. To remain that way, though, the company needs to offer high-volume production on a small process node - and that's where its £2 billion Nanking facility, currently awaiting approval from the Investment Commission of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, comes in.

'In view of the rapid growth of the Chinese semiconductor market, we have decided to establish a 12-inch wafer fab and a design service centre in China to provide closer support to our customers there,' explained TSMC chair Morris Chang of the plan, 'and to further expand our business opportunities.' The plant, the company has claimed, would concentrate on large 12" wafer production at a 16nm process node, with a view to begin volume production of silicon in the second half of 2018 and offer a peak output of 20,000 wafers per month - the bulk of which, the company has suggested, would go directly to Chinese customers.

The building work is scheduled to begin as soon as the company receives the green light from the Investment Commission, TSMC has confirmed.