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The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to raise funds for its new chipmaking facility in the United States as chip manufacturers deal with a global shortage. TSMC is responsible for providing products to some of the world’s largest companies, and the Taiwanese semiconductor foundry’s latest chip manufacturing technologies have placed it at the forefront of the industry.
In addition to its Arizona subsidiary announcing a debt offering for the U.S. chip facility, TSMC also battled a fire at the site where its chipmaking facility is located for the leading-edge 5-nanometer (nm) chip process. The fire started at an under-construction water processing facility and has been controlled since then.
TSMC Agrees To Submit Supply Chain Data To U.S. Government By November Start
TSMC’s Arizona plant is overseen by the company’s subsidiary registered in the state. The subsidiary, TSMC Arizona, filed a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week, in which it outlined its plans to sell debt worth $4.5 billion. While the prospectus, which is a document that informs potential investors about the nature of the company soliciting investment and the use of the funds generated, does not explicitly mention constructing a semiconductor fabrication plant, it is highly likely that the funds will be used for purposes associated with this.
The prospectus states that the funds generated will be used for administrative purposes by stating that:
Additionally, TSMC also expects equipment in the Arizona fabrication plant to be in place by the second half of next year, confirming statements made by a key supplier in July.
According to TSMC Arizona:
As its Arizona subsidiary was busy raising funds for the new plant, back in Taiwan, a water plant being built for TSMC in the same locality as its 5nm chip fab caught fire. The fire led to two workers from the scene being rescued, and an early investigation by the local fire department speculated that foam in the plant area caught fire from sparks generated through electrical welding.
According to the Nan-ke Administration Bureau, sparks generated while a pipeline was being welded traveled through the pipe due to wind towards foam present in the construction site. TSMC’s response to the matter clarified that it is not managing the plant’s construction and that it will take over once the facility is built.
After reports of an across-the-board price increase in the chipmaking sector earlier this year, fresh rumors from Taiwan bear news of more hikes. According to news outlet Jiwei, TSMC might further increase prices from the start of next year, as another Taiwanese chipmaker UMC, has reportedly notified its customers of a sub-10% hike from January.
Responding to requests from the United States Department of Commerce to share supply chain data, TSMC announced yesterday that it would submit this data by the 8th of next month. TSMC’s statement reads as:
