Why is TSMC pursuing its geographical expansion plan now? Is this decision driven by politics or commerce? How big is the political element?
What’s at stake? China’s Communist Party clearly isn’t giving up on its long-term goal to absorb Taiwan into China. When, if ever, Beijing might pull the trigger is anybody’s guess. Taiwanese companies tend to downplay the possibility, but those reassurances haven’t assuaged the world’s fear that it might happen. In no small part, that’s because Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s success in chip production has made Taiwan economically and politically critical to the whole world.