With increasing geopolitical pressures, the "new globalization" trend of the semiconductor industry has taken shape, and it will move towards global localization. Cao Shilun, global marketing officer and president of Taiwan of the International Semiconductor Industry Association, believes that the localization of semiconductors will not be endless, and industry and politics will eventually return to balance.

Cao Shilun said that politics was originally a "parallel line" with industry and market, and now due to the influence of political forces, the semiconductor industry is bound to develop towards localization; As for when it will stop, there is no answer yet.

Global Crystal is a semiconductor factory affected by political forces in the industry, Global Crystal has acquired an average of 4 company every 1 years, contributing 9% of its operating growth momentum, and the acquisition of Germany's Siltronic was unexpectedly frustrated due to geopolitical and national security concerns.

Xu Xiulan, chairman of Global Crystal, said that the Siltronic case is very political, and it is obvious that the national security level has reached an unprecedented level. In response to increasing geopolitical pressures, Global Crystal launched a "new globalization" layout, simultaneously expanding the production capacity of existing factories in 6 countries, and building a new 1-inch silicon wafer fab in Texas, USA.
 

Xu Xiulan further explained that Global Crystal will have 18 factories spanning three continents in Europe, the United States and Asia in the future, maximizing supply resilience. Global Crystal should do global localization, so that European, American or Japanese customers think that Global Crystal is a local enterprise, achieve differentiation with peers, and become the strength of Global Crystal.

Cao Shilun believes that the era of semiconductor production in Taiwan in the past is "no going back", but the development of localization will not be endless. He took mobile phones as an example, when all chips of mobile phones are produced abroad, the result is 2 times the price, who wants to buy.

He said that consumers can tolerate how high the price of products is, and how long the government's subsidy policy can last, are closely related to the development of localization, and industry, market and politics will eventually return to balance.
 

Enterprises should be responsible for shareholders and explain to customers, and operators cannot be completely without risk awareness, especially in the current geopolitical atmosphere, operations should diversify risks. Cao Shilun said that the pursuit of the best cost-effectiveness is also the responsibility of the CEO of the company.

Cao Shilun said that when a war breaks out and transportation is difficult, enterprises must have a record; However, when there is no risk, why companies should pay a higher price is a key factor affecting the localization of semiconductors.

Cao Shilun said that the trend of semiconductor localization is taking shape, and Taiwan companies should participate in the process and exert influence to become the most popular enterprises in order to ensure the advantages of Taiwan's semiconductor industry.

 

• LINK: This article is reprinted with permission from: Central News Agency Responsible editors: Fu Peiqing, Qian Yuxiang