There are reports that major semiconductor manufacturers are considering building their factories in the Middle East. The main promising country here is the United Arab Emirates. Delegates from TSMC and Samsung have already visited the country for key negotiations. The total cost of the project could reach $100 billion, and the country’s government is ready to provide financial support through its investment funds.
The main problem is the high cost of building such plants in local conditions. The plants also need access to large volumes of clean industrial water. In the UAE, such volumes can only be obtained by desalinating seawater, which is quite expensive. But there will be no problems with cheap energy resources. Therefore, in general, such cooperation may be quite promising. But the launch of the project also depends on the approval of the American government, which may stall the process due to concerns about the leakage of technology to other countries.
According to rumors, the interests of the UAE are represented by Mubadala Investment Company, which is already the main investor in GlobalFoundries. At one time, GlobalFoundries withdrew from the race for the lead in the development of new technological processors due to the high costs required for the transition to 7 nm. But it is likely that Arab investors still intend to obtain advanced semiconductor factories in their region.
Source:
The Wall Street Journal
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