TSMC 300mm wafer fab in China gets greenlit

Chip foundry TSMC announced it received approval from the Taiwanese government to build a 300mm wafer fab in China. TSMC plans to build a $3 billion wafer fab in China, with a capacity of 20,000 wafer starts. The Chinese fab should start churning out 16nm FinFET chips in the second half of 2018:

Taiwan announced a plan to invest about $3 billion in building a wafer fab in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China in December 2015. The facility is planned for a capacity of 20,000 wafer starts per month and would begin volume production of 16nm FinFETs in second half of 2018, but the plan was subject to Taiwan government approval. At the time TSMC chairman Morris Chang said such a move would provide closer support to TSMC's customers there and further expand the company’s business opportunities.

The foundry already operates a 200mm fab in China, but legislation forbade Taiwanese companies from owning and operating Chinese fabs that use the more efficient 300mm wafer size because Taiwan wants to keep its technological edge over China.

The Taiwanese government is relaxing its position, saying it would allow a maximum of three such plants, but notes that it will require proof from TSMC that it has begun manufacturing 10nm chips in Taiwan before it can move equipment into the Chinese wafer fab.