Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to Open Own Plant in China
By PAUL MOZUR

As many of its competitors in the chip industry form partnerships in China, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing said on Monday that it was taking a different route: setting up a new manufacturing plant without help from a local partner.

The move is designed to protect its technology while playing to a China market brimming with makers of inexpensive smartphones. It is charting a course between keeping complex chip production facilities outside China and licensing technology to Chinese partners.

In an announcement Monday, Taiwan Semiconductor said it had submitted an application to Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs to invest in an advanced chip production facility in Nanjing, China. The total value of the investment is expected to be about $3 billion, though a spokesman for the company said it expected to save money by using equipment from facilities in Taiwan and capitalizing on Chinese subsidies.

In a nod to concerns about advanced chip protection technology being leaked to Chinese competitors, Taiwan Semiconductor said in a separate statement that by the time the facility in China is up and running, an advanced operation in Taiwan would be churning out chips a generation more sophisticated.

The company added that it “comprehensively protects its proprietary information” and, in referring to its fabrication plant, emphasized that it would “have whole ownership of the fab in China, which will help protect our intellectual property rights.”

Taiwan Semiconductor’s approach stands in contrast to some of its rivals and partners in chip making. With the Chinese government set to spend tens of billions of dollars to build its chip industry, many foreign companies have been setting up partnerships and licensing technology in China.

During the past year, Qualcomm has partnered with the Chinese chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International to develop advanced chip production; Intel has invested in a subsidiary of China’s new national chip champion, Tsinghua Unigroup; and IBM has licensed some of its chip technology to a smaller Chinese partner.

As new links have grown, so, too, have concerns. In the United States, politicians and defense analysts say they are worried about Chinese theft of technology or advantages gained by close cooperation in the semiconductor industry. Advanced chip technology powers supercomputers that are used to manage defense systems, research new weapons and model things like nuclear detonations.

With an economy still based heavily on the chip supply chain, Taiwan’s government has also been particularly careful about allowing its most advanced semiconductor firms, like Taiwan Semiconductor, to cooperate closely with China.

Still, the recent spending spree by the Chinese government and chip companies has made a major impression on the island, and people in the industry in Taiwan acknowledge that the Chinese market is critical. For example, in its statement Taiwan Semiconductor said more than 50 percent of its revenue over the past five years had come from Chinese customers.

獨資！ 台積電登陸遞件

全球晶圓代工龍頭台積電昨天向經部投審會遞件，正式申請赴大陸設12吋晶圓廠與設計服務中心，地點為江蘇省南京市。台積電表示，投資金額將會低於30億美元（約新台幣982億元），台積電採獨資進行，此投資案將是台灣企業歷年來赴大陸投資最大金額。

經濟部投審會昨天表示，將在2個月內審查決定，最快農曆春節前准駁。經濟部設立技術落差（比台灣差一個世代）、對台要有相對投資、保護智慧財產權、保障在台員工權益（例不准裁員）。等4大審查關卡。相關官員評估，台積電過去紀錄不錯，加上登陸投資對產業鏈有加分作用，過關機會大。

台積電是繼聯電（廈門）、力晶（合肥）後，台灣第3家前往大陸設立12吋晶圓廠的業者。台積電南京廠量產採16奈米切入，是台灣業者在大陸的12吋廠當中最先進的製程。原本台積電董事長張忠謀曾說，大陸12吋晶圓廠生產成本仍高於台灣；如今張忠謀改變態度，台積電趕在總統大選前正式遞件，凸顯台積電登陸計畫已獲對岸相當程度獎勵或優惠。

台積電在新聞稿中強調，這項投資是張忠謀決定。張忠謀說，近年來大陸半導體市場成長快速，為能就近協助客戶並進一步增加商機，決定在大陸設立12吋晶圓廠與設計服務中心。

台積電赴大陸設立12吋晶圓廠規劃月產能2萬片，並預定2018年下半年開始切入16奈米製程接單生產。

台積電指出，大陸半導體市場近年來成長快速，台積電在大陸的業務在過去5年的年複合成長率已超過50%。為了更進一步增加在大陸的商機，決定赴大陸設立12吋晶圓廠。

台積電表示，整個計畫總金額約為30億美元，其中包括來自台灣現有晶圓廠的機台設備價值、以及大陸政府在集成電路產業上的政策優惠，因此投資金額會低於30億美元。

台積電目前規劃晶圓廠與設計服務中心各聘任約1200人與500人，將在南京直接建構中國大陸的生態系統。初期將由台灣總部與上海松江廠派駐員工協助建廠與產能建置，並依建廠時程陸續招募當地人員。這座新廠量產前，台灣派駐的員工占比將超過50%。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/business/international/taiwan-semiconductor-china-factory-chips.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytimes.com/business/20151208/c08semiconductor/zh-hant/

2015-12-08．聯合報．A1．要聞．記者簡永祥