What does it feel like to fall from the throne of the global chip hegemon? This is a question that only Japan can say. I thought that Japan would let go of this, but I did not expect that in the case of the United States and Europe have strengthened chip investment, Japan has also learned from it and is ready to do a big job.
Like the United States, Japan first attracted chip giants through high subsidies. The data shows that Japan is ready to spend 600 billion yen (about $5.2 billion) from its budget for fiscal 2021 to subsidize advanced chip manufacturers. This successfully attracted the attention of TSMC, the world's largest foundry, which in turn happened to be the biggest target of Japan's action.
TSMC decided to go to Japan to build a $7 billion chip factory, which will receive about 400 billion yen (about $3.5 billion) in subsidies from Japan. It can be seen that Japan is not stingy, with a total of only 600 billion subsidies, and TSMC exclusively accounts for two-thirds.
Unlike the United States, Japan has also pulled Japanese companies into the water. Sony will also contribute about $500 million in the construction of TSMC's Japanese subsidiary, which will allow the company to take nearly 20% of TSMC's Japanese subsidiary and prepare for Japan's next move.
Judging from the latest news, Japan is preparing to take the next step. Foreign media reported that Sony is teaming up with TSMC and US giant Qualcomm to target South Korean giant Samsung. Some people here have to ask, isn't Sony a camera and TV manufacturer? Why do you still want to grab the chip market with Samsung?
In fact, Sony also produces chips. In the image sensor market, Sony also holds 46% of the global market share, making it the largest manufacturer in this field. What about Samsung? Currently, Samsung ranks second with a market share of 29%.
What worries Sony is that the market share gap between Sony and Samsung exceeded 50% in 2018, but it narrowed to 17% in just 3 years. If you don't work hard, then the advantage in this field is estimated to be gone. Therefore, after taking the stake in TSMC, Sony is also preparing to establish a joint camera research laboratory in the United States with Qualcomm in order to cope with Samsung's catch-up situation.
Finally, do you think That Japan's big game can help the country get back to the top?
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