Eyeing TSMC expansion, Bank of Taiwan to open office in Fukuoka in March

Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) Bank of Taiwan, the largest lender in the country, is scheduled to open a representative office in Fukuoka, Japan, on March 22 at a time when the Taiwanese semiconductor industry is extending its reach into the Japanese market, led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).

Speaking with reporters, Lyu Jye-cherng (呂桔誠), chairman of Bank of Taiwan, said the bank has been a major supporter of the local semiconductor industry and is determined to follow the industry's move by making its presence felt in the Japanese market by providing one-stop shopping services to Taiwanese IC suppliers.

Bank of Taiwan is able to integrate its strength in domestic business units (DBUs) and offshore business units (OBUs) along with its overseas branches to provide the best possible services to Taiwan's high-tech sector in overseas markets, Lyu said.

In order to develop a better understanding of Japan's economic and industrial development, the bank has decided to open a representative office in Fukuoka with an application approved by Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) in early December.

Bank of Taiwan has forged close business ties with major Japanese banks, such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Mizuho Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. so the Taiwanese bank will be able to provide better services through such cooperation in Japan, Lyu added.

Currently, Bank of Taiwan has a branch in Tokyo and operates branches in 10 other cities: New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Sidney and Johannesburg.

In addition, Bank of Taiwan has representative offices in 10 cities including Mumbai, Yangon, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Phoenix, where TSMC is building two advanced wafer fabs.

In Japan, the first TSMC wafer fab at Kumamoto is scheduled to begin operations on Feb. 24.

On Feb. 6, TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, announced it will build a second wafer fab in Kumamoto -- Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM) -- through a joint venture with its Japanese partners. The second fab is expected to break ground at the end of 2024, with operations slated to begin at the end of 2027.

Together with JASM's first fab, the overall investment of JASM will exceed US$20 billion, TSMC has said.

Led by TSMC, its suppliers are investing in Japan, which has prompted more and more Taiwanese banks to set their sights on the Japanese market, according to the FSC, the top financial regulator in Taiwan.

On Feb. 6, the FSC approved an application submitted by Bank of Taiwan to set up a branch in Tokyo.

In addition to Bank of Taiwan, the FSC said, First Commercial Bank, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Mega International Commercial Bank, Taiwan Business Bank, E. Sun Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank and CTBC Bank, also operate branches in Japan.