LEUVEN, Belgium, June 20 — Taiwan does not need to worry about its semiconductor industry moving abroad, and its position at the fore of the sector is set to continue, the head of Europe’s largest chip technology research centre has told Central News Agency (CNA).

"Although TSMC is investing in other locations, the core of TSMC will remain in Taiwan,” Luc Van den hove, president and CEO of IMEC, an international research and innovation hub focusing on nanoelectronics and digital technologies, told CNA in a recent interview.

When asked whether Taiwan’s global market share is likely to decrease in the next five to 10 years because of a concern that the world is too dependent on the country for semiconductors, Van den hove said that Taiwan will remain powerful in the sector, even if more manufacturing starts to be done in other countries.

"I don’t think that position is going to change in the next five to 10 years at all,” he said.

As well as lauding TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, as a significant entity, Van den hove said there were many other semiconductor companies in the country that will likely continue helping Taiwan consolidate its position as crucial to the global semiconductor industry.

He added that Taiwan also has an advantage in its critical mass of semiconductor foundries.

"I think TSMC has grown to such a level that it has become very important to the global economy,” he said, noting that by having a limited manufacturing capability outside Taiwan, TSMC is helping to de-risk its semiconductor supply chain.

"I believe that the success of Taiwan is related to the success of TSMC. And if TSMC makes the decision to have a small amount of manufacturing distributed across the world, I believe that will also benefit Taiwan,” he said.

Many describe Taiwan’s strength in microchips, which are indispensable in the production of many electronic products and other technologies, as its "silicon shield,” which could help protect it against Chinese aggression.

Van den hove added that he would like to see TSMC investing in and setting up some of its manufacturing in Europe.

He also expressed hope that any potential investment by TSMC in the European chip sector would allow the two sides to further step up their research and development (R&D) partnership, particularly because Taiwan leads the world in manufacturing, while Europe has proven to be very capable in terms of R&D and innovation.

In the interview, Van den hove also highlighted the importance of international cooperation in the sector, as the European Union expects to pass its "European Chips Act” in the second half of this year, and is looking to work toward strengthening the European semiconductor industry.

However, given the United States, the EU, and Japan among others are eager to work toward establishing their own chip supply chains to reduce their dependence on others, it is likely to reduce efficiencies brought about by international cooperation.

Commenting on this, Van den hove said this is unrealistic for each region to have full control over their supply chain because "the industry has, to a large extent, become successful, thanks to international collaboration, international partnerships,” he said.

If every region tried to do everything on its own, this would result in a setback and a slowdown in innovation, because self-sufficiency would lead to mediocracy. But combining "the best of the best across the world, that is the best way to accelerate innovation,” he added. — Bernama-CAN