Taiwan puts chips on the table with US$375 million semiconductor expansion fund
- Taiwan’s chip makers, many already industry leaders, want to expand their global footprint – and the government wants to help
- Island has earmarked US$375 million to assist firms in making contacts and expanding customer bases overseas, as well as setting up new production lines
Neuchips, a Taiwanese company that designs low-power semiconductors for data centres, is in the market for overseas clients. But the firm is young – only two years old – and could use a helping hand from an entity with more heft.
To help businesses out of this unsteady position, the Taiwan government is working on a 10-year plan to fuel the global expansion of the island’s prized semiconductor industry amid an increasingly complex environment.
“[If] the government has any connections, small to medium-sized enterprises and start-ups really need that,” Neuchips senior manager Kathy Teng said at the company’s stall at the Taiwan Innotech Expo, a mid-October trade show for new inventions.
The government plan, due to launch next year with an initial US$375 million budget, is intended to explore ways to aid chip designers, manufacturers and suppliers expand offshore and at home.
Developers and designers hope the government uses its weight to expand Taiwan’s chip market offshore without sacrificing Taiwan’s unique status, built over more than four decades, as a world semiconductor production centre.
