Germany is giving the green light of support for Taiwan’s top semiconductor maker.
The country’s top competition regulator just approved investments from three German companies in a new semiconductor plant based in the German city of Dresden.
The project has been dubbed the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company—or ESMC—founded by Taiwanese chip maker TSMC.
Bosch, Infineon, and NXP will each purchase a ten-percent stake in the plant with TSMC holding the remaining 70 percent and operating the plant.
It’s the Taiwanese company’s first facility in Europe and one of just a handful outside of Taiwan and China. Berlin has been aiming to promote its domestic chip industry, which its automakers rely on.
The announcement comes alongside a survey from the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce. It notes that of the 3,600 German companies polled, many are planning to invest more in North America, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region—excluding China and Taiwan. The caution toward the two comes amid growing tensions between Beijing and the West.