TSMC affiliate Vanguard to build $7.8bn Singapore plant with NXP

TSMC affiliate Vanguard International Semiconductor will invest $7.8 billion together with leading European chipmaker NXP to build its most advanced production facility ever in Singapore.

The move is aimed at tapping the growing demand for regional chip manufacturing as countries and companies become more concerned about supply chain resilience. 

Nikkei Asia first reported last year that VIS was planning to build a major chip facility in Singapore. 

The joint-venture chip plant, announced on Wednesday (5 Jun), will produce power management and analog chips for the automotive, industrial, consumer and mobile device markets. 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Vanguard's largest shareholder, will license all necessary production technologies to the company. Sources told Nikkei that TSMC will also send specialists on building chip facilities to help with the construction in Singapore. 
 

The joint venture is scheduled to begin construction of the initial phase of the wafer fabrication plant in the second half of this year, pending regulatory approvals. Initial products are planned to be available to customers by 2027. 

When the investment was still in the pipeline, Vanguard Chairman Leuh Fang told reporters that the expansion would be focused on the increasing demand for all types of power management and power supply chips.

NXP is a key customer of both Vanguard and TSMC. NXP also invested in TSMC's first chip plant in Europe, in the German city of Dresden, along with Bosch and Infineon. 

"NXP continues to take proactive actions to ensure it has a manufacturing base which provides competitive cost, supply control and geographic resilience to support our long-term growth objectives," said NXP's president and CEO, Kurt Sievers. 
 

A version of this article was first published by Nikkei Asia on Jun 5 2024.
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