TSMC denies new chip plant investment

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chip maker, Wednesday denied a news report that it planned to spend NT$200 billion ($6.2 billion) on two advanced chip plants in southern Taiwan.

“The press report is wrong,” said J.H. Tzeng, a spokesman for TSMC.

The story was originally reported in the local-language financial newspaper the Economic Daily News. The paper reported that TSMC would construct two 12-inch semiconductor factories at a site in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, near the city of Tainan. But even the director of the industrial park was befuddled by the report.

“I read about it in the newspaper, but there’s been no new construction at TSMC’s property here at the park and they haven’t talked to us about any investments recently,” said Tai Chein, director of the Southern Taiwan Science Park, in a telephone interview.

In 1997, TSMC announced a long-range plan to invest NT$400 billion on new chip plants at the southern park as part of a government push to develop Taiwan more evenly. Much of the high-tech industry on the island is located in the north, while the south remains a major agricultural area, as well as home to several Taiwanese conglomerates and steel maker China Steel.

A few years later in 1999, the chip maker began volume production at first 12-inch chip plant in the southern park. Today, the company also has a 12-inch plant in volume production in the northern Taiwanese city of Hsinchu.