TSMC says it could build a fab in the US, but will it?

Since Trump got elected as the 45th president of the US, a lot of companies are scrambling to make announcements about how they will or may bring production to the US.

One of them is Taiwanese foundry TSMC, chairman Morris Chang told investors he does not rule out building a new wafer fab in the US. However, this statement was followed by a claim that making chips in the US "may not necessarily be a good thing". So basically, Chang said something that journalists and policy makers can spin however they want.

TSMC is already creating jobs in the US, Chang indicated. The pure-play foundry is helping its US-based fabless and IDM customers succeed on a global scale and expand their operations, Chang said.

TSMC disclosed revenues from customers based in North America accounted for 65% of its total wafer revenues in 2016. The proportion will still stay above 60% in 2017, Chang said.