Czech delegation seeks investment from TSMC suppliers

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) The Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei and the CzechInvest Taiwan office held a forum on semiconductor industry business opportunities Wednesday, calling for investment from suppliers of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).

The call for investment followed an announcement from TSMC in 2023 that it plans to build a fab in the German city of Dresden.

Speaking at the seminar in Taipei on investment incentives "tailored for the Taiwanese semiconductor industry," visiting Czech Senate Vice President Jiří Drahoš stressed the need to diversify semiconductor production capacity.

This will mitigate the vulnerability of supply chain disruption potentially caused by "natural disasters, geopolitical tensions or resource scarcity," he added.

Drahoš said the Czech Republic is an ideal friendly country for Taiwan to implement the "friend-shoring" strategy, meaning the collaboration with "an allied nation who would be willing to cooperate and build the semiconductor environment."

He added that his country is ready to work with TSMC and become part of the semiconductor ecosystem in Europe as the supply chain expands.

The forum aimed to attract the suppliers of TSMC, which has set up its majority-owned subsidy European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (ESMC) in Dresden.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has said it plans to begin constructing a fab in the German city in the second half of 2024, with production targeted to begin by the end of 2027.

Drahoš touted the Czech Republic's industrial background, educated and skilled workforce, and its strategic location.

He emphasized the country's closeness to "all major chip producers in Europe, particularly the future TSMC foundry in Dresden," which is less than a two-hour drive from Prague, and also highlighted the direct Prague-Taipei flights on China Airlines.

Matouš Kostlivý, Director of Taiwanese operations at CzechInvest, the Czech Republic's Investment and Business Development Agency, pointed out that his country was more affordable than Germany.

He also noted that many suppliers of Japan's Toyota and South Korea's Hyundai followed the two multinationals when they set up shop in the Czech Republic.

CzechInvest opened an office in Taiwan in April -- its third in Asia, following those in Japan and South Korea.

Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), who also attended the forum, said Taiwan and the Czech Republic have been building a "cycle of friendship" since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both sides have signed several MOUs on topics such as startups, cybersecurity, space, green energy, and smart machinery, he added.

With ESMC's establishment in Dresden, Kung said, the discussion has naturally turned to the possibility of the Central European country becoming an important location for Europe's semiconductor sector.

Wednesday's forum was opened by Drahoš and Deputy Minister of Science, Research and Innovation Jana Havlikova, who are leading a 19-member Czech delegation that arrived in Taiwan on Monday.