Taiwan-based GlobalWafers said it expects to start construction of its $5 billion plant in Texas in November.
GlobalWafers said in June it would build the plant to make 300-millimetre silicon wafers used in semiconductors, switching from a defunct plan to invest in Germany.

GlobalWafers Chairwoman and chief executive Doris Hsu told reporters in Taipei that the groundbreaking ceremony was expected to be around the end of November.

The United States has been encouraging foreign tech firms to manufacture in the country, and the government has welcomed the investment by GlobalWafers.

Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the Chips and Science Act, which authorized about $52 billion in government subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production and research, and an investment tax credit for chip plants estimated to be worth $24 billion.

Hsu said that subsidies, while important, were not the only consideration.

“We received government subsidy proposals from not only the United States but from other places as well. But our assessment looks at the overall score. The Chips Act is a very important factor but it is not the only factor,” Hsu said.

“I think the U.S. market lacks silicon wafers. When we discuss carbon footprints, localization, and green solutions, I think there needs to be a local solution.”

GlobalWafer’s investment will be the first silicon wafer facility to be built in the United States in more than two decades, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), a major Apple supplier and the world’s largest contract chipmaker, last year started construction of a semiconductor factory in Arizona with an investment of $12 billion.