Samsung Electronics and Taiwan’s TSMC are reportedly considering constructing a large-scale semiconductor factory value 100 billion dollars (about 134 trillion won) within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) inside the following few years.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the twenty second (local time), citing sources, that TSMC’s top executives recently visited the UAE and discussed a factory complex of the identical size because the state-of-the-art facility in Taiwan.
In response to one other anonymous source, Samsung Electronics can be considering constructing a brand new large-scale chip production facility within the UAE. It is claimed that it recently sent an envoy to the Middle Eastern country to debate the brand new business.
A plan was considered through which the UAE, including the sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, would bear all costs. The project size is claimed to exceed $100 billion.
The goal is to extend global chip production and drive down prices, sources said.
Nevertheless, discussions are still of their early stages and will face technical and other obstacles, it said.
The U.S. government is especially concerned that the UAE, with its aggressive investment in technology, could turn into a conduit for advanced AI technology to be passed on to China, the report said.
It was revealed that TSMC and Samsung Electronics have also discussed this issue with the U.S. government. The U.S. National Security Council (NSC) said, “We have now been cooperating extensively with the UAE in the sphere of advanced technology over the past two years,” and “The partnership is progressing well.”
Meanwhile, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is scheduled to go to Washington on the twenty fourth to satisfy with President Joe Biden. The 2 countries are expected to debate security issues, cutting-edge technology, and AI development.
Reporter Im Dae-jun ydj@aitimes.com
