TSMC fabrication facility
South Korea wants to spend $450 billion over the next decade to increase the capacity of its chip business. And Moody’s reported on Monday that China’s spending on semiconductor development rose 407% on an annual basis. The country has been trying to reduce its reliance on semiconductor imports. Additionally, Beijing would love to have more control over its ability to obtain semiconductors after U.S. bans made it more difficult to do so.
Li adds, “For China, developing domestic semiconductors has pros and cons. The advantages, such as avoiding geopolitical insecurities, are very apparent. But the risk of spurring overcapacity remains.” Industry analyst Daniel Nenni says to expect a chip glut unless “there is some big boom in semiconductor demand.”
