TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Responding to rumors that the Czech Republic may be the site of its next overseas foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) said it does not rule out any possibility but that it has no such plans at present.

The speculation began after a bid by Taiwan’s GlobalWafers to acquire Germany’s Siltronic failed on Monday (Feb. 7). Although the official reason given by German authorities was that there was insufficient time to process the regulatory overview of the merger application, some in the industry suspect simple protectionism prevented the takeover, per a TechNews report.

This has caused some to say TSMC may not get the green light to set up shop in Germany and will instead pivot to neighboring Czech Republic. TSMC has not confirmed or denied this.

As for the potential German factory, TSMC said it is still in a very early stage of planning the project.

●Origin：Taiwan News By Liam Gibson
●Link：https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4438440