TSMC gets NT$147 billion aid from U.S., Japan, Germany, China over 2 years

Taipei, Nov. 18 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the governments of the United States, Japan, Germany and China over the past two years for the chipmaker's global expansion.

Financial data compiled by the world's largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from these governments in the third quarter of this year, bringing the total for the first three quarters of 2025 to about NT$71.90 billion.

Along with NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received in 2024, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed.

According to TSMC, the subsidies received by its subsidiaries - TSMC Arizona Corp. in the U.S. state of Arizona, European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (ESMC) in Dresden, Germany, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (JASM) in Kumamoto, Japan, and TSMC Nanjing Co. in China - were largely used for purchases of property, facilities and equipment.

In addition, TSMC said, the funds were also allocated to operating costs and expenses associated with these overseas production sites.

TSMC said the four subsidiaries have signed agreements with local governments, where their investments are located. Under the agreements, TSMC must follow the schedules set to complete the construction and observe other terms in its investments, the chipmaker said.

In Arizona, TSMC is also eligible to apply for aid, representing 25 percent of certain investments in the state.

TSMC is investing US$65 billion to build three advanced fabs in Arizona and mass production of the first started in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company has pledged to invest an additional US$100 billion in Arizona to build three more fabs, two IC assembly plants and one research and development center.

In Kumamoto, TSMC's first fab began commercial production at the end of 2024, and construction of the second is underway. In Dresden, the chipmaker is also building a fab, with its mass-production timeline depending on clients' demand and market conditions.

In Nanjing, TSMC currently runs a 12-inch wafer fab, which introduced the mature 28 nanometer process into production in 2022.