Due to weak demand for older chips and uncertainties surrounding tariffs, leading chipmakers, including TSMC and Intel, have slowed down their expansion efforts in Japan and Malaysia. TSMC’s Kumamoto plant in Japan, its most successful overseas expansion, currently produces 28nm and 22nm chips. However, with subdued demand for mature chips, TSMC is slowing its growth in Japan. According to three sources, the company has decided not to begin production of 16nm and 12nm chips at the Kumamoto plant until 2026. “Demand in consumer electronics, automotive, and industrial sectors is weak, and the recovery outlook is bleak. TSMC’s Kumamoto plant utilization is well below expectations,” a chip industry executive said. Meanwhile, multiple sources have revealed that Intel had planned to build its largest advanced chip packaging factory in Malaysia, but weak computer demand and the company’s own financial difficulties have delayed the construction of the plant and the ordering of equipment. [Jiwei, in Chinese]
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