According to report, TSMC has decided to build its first overseas R&D base in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. It is reported that TSMC will also set up a local subsidiary with an investment of about 20 billion yen.

The report pointed out that the R&D center will be mainly used for the latter part of the semiconductor process-packaging and other related operations. In addition, TSMC is also considering to build a production line locally.

The report stated that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan regards semiconductors as an important strategic sector and therefore intends to support cooperation between TSMC and Japanese companies through subsidies and other means.

It is worth mentioning that TSMC is also building factories in the United States. The company announced in May last year that it would invest 12 billion U.S. dollars to build a 5-nanometer chip factory in Arizona, USA, and set up a 100% shareholding subsidiary in the United States, with a paid-in capital of 3.5 billion U.S. dollars.