TSMC wins US$6.6b grant

The US plans to award Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing US$6.6 billion (HK$51.68 billion) in grants and nearly US$5 billion in loans to help the world's top chipmaker build factories in Arizona, expanding President Joe Biden's effort to boost domestic production of critical technology.

Under the agreement, TSMC will construct a third factory in Phoenix, adding to two facilities in the state that are expected to begin production in 2025 and 2028. In total, the package will support more than US$65 billion in investments at the three plants by TSMC.

TSMC's third fabrication site will rely on next-generation 2-nanometer process technology.

"For the first time ever, we will be making at scale the most advanced semiconductor chips on the planet here," US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. TSMC is planning to first make 2nm chips in Taiwan in 2025.

The award is a milestone in Biden's push to boost the industry with the 2022 Chips and Science Act. "The proposed funding ... would provide TSMC the opportunity to make this unprecedented investment," TSMC chairman Mark Liu said.

Bloomberg