TOKYO: Japan's government wants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd and Sony Group to invest 1 trillion yen ($9.2 billion) to build the country's first 20 nanometre chip plant , the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper reported on Wednesday.The potential factory would be built close to Sony's image sensor plant in southwest Japan, according to a proposal floated by Japan's trade and industry ministry, the report said. It did not provide further details on the proposal or when it was made.Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida declined to comment on the report at a strategy briefing on Wednesday but said "stable chip supplies are important for Japan to maintain its international competitiveness." TSMC declined to comment. A 20 nanometre chip is more powerful as it packs more transistors into a smaller space.U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer this month unveiled legislation to approve $52 billion to significantly boost U.S. semiconductor chip production and research over five years.

Source: Economic Times May 26, 2021 05:44 UTC