As a potential competitor worth paying attention to in the eyes of Zhang Zhongmou, South Korean semiconductors have faced a huge dilemma in the near future. Due to U.S. restrictions on South Korean technology, Samsung and SK hynix's production bases in mainland China have been severely affected. In order to get out of the predicament, South Korean Semiconductor had to look for a partner, and finally chose the Netherlands for cooperation. However, this restriction has invisibly pushed South Korean semiconductors to the edge, making them realize that they are hurting, not other competitors. The United States, which has used technological means to exclude potential competitors, has now set its sights on continental semiconductors, trying to maintain its dominant position by curbing the development of continental semiconductors.
In the field of semiconductors, there is some friction between the United States and Japan. Despite this, the two sides have deepened their cooperation, not only announcing that they will jointly conquer the field of cutting-edge chips, but also enacting a number of equipment bans, further strengthening the partnership with the United States. However, in fact, Japan's semiconductor ambitions are not small, they are actively strengthening the local ** chain, and trying to win over TSMC to build a more advanced chip factory in Japan. According to reports, TSMC's foundry services subsidiary JASM is nearing completion and plans to increase the proportion of semiconductor equipment and raw materials purchased in Japan to 60 by 2030. Japanese semiconductors are trying to grasp the right to speak in the global semiconductor market by deeply binding with TSMC. In contrast, U.S. semiconductor manufacturers are still hampered by environmental scrutiny after receiving huge subsidies, delaying the process of reshoring chip manufacturing.
It is worth noting that TSMC is no stranger to the local ** of Japanese semiconductors. The reason why TSMC chose to cooperate with Japan is because they fancy the advantages of Japanese semiconductors in raw materials and other aspects. Today, Nippon Semiconductor has taken the initiative to provide more local** to help TSMC solve the cost problem and further strengthen the partnership between the two. This means that the local ** of TSMC factories will be raised to 60 in the future, which is undoubtedly a wake-up call for US semiconductor manufacturers. In the competition between the United States and Japan semiconductors, TSMC may cooperate deeply with Japanese semiconductors, rather than positioning its opponents in mainland semiconductors.
From this article, we can see that in the context of increasingly fierce competition in the global semiconductor market, Japanese semiconductors are strengthening their local ** chain and trying to re-enter the global market. At the same time, TSMC, as the world's leading foundry, is also actively seeking new partners to reduce costs and improve the reliability of the ** chain. To a certain extent, this series of changes has affected the development prospects of U.S. semiconductor manufacturers. In the future competition, it may no longer be mainland semiconductors that become potential opponents of TSMC, but Japanese semiconductors, which claim to be partners. In this changing context, countries and companies need to pay close attention to the dynamics of the global semiconductor market and make corresponding response strategies to maintain a competitive advantage.
- Li Yifei, Chen Lu. （2022）.TSMC Capital Outlook.
Japan Semiconductor JASM"Technews Special Report: Kumamoto Dream Realized!Editorial office, April 15, 2017.