The Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) area in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on September 16, 2022, with the Burj Khalifa in the background.
Christopher Pike | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Global chip giant British Semiconductor. and Samsung Electronics has been in talks with the United Arab Emirates about building large-scale factories in the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sundayciting people familiar with the interactions and strategies involved.
Reports say TSMC's top executives recently visited the Gulf state to discuss plans to build a factory complex that would rival some of the company's largest and most advanced facilities in Taiwan.
South Korea's Samsung Electronics has also been considering investing in chip manufacturing facilities in the country over the next few years. Top executives from the South Korean company recently visited the country to explore the idea, the report said.
The Gulf nation has been strengthening and investing in the development of its domestic technology industry in an effort to establish itself as a global hub for advanced technology and artificial intelligence. However, discussions with Emirati officials are still at an early stage, the report said.
A tug-of-war between the United States and China is playing out in the region as technology deals accelerate and Washington becomes increasingly wary of Beijing's influence in the Gulf state. TSMC and Samsung have held discussions with U.S. officials concerned about the possibility of UAE factories shipping advanced artificial intelligence chips to China.
Alex Capri, a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore Business School, told CNBC that the United States may continue to pressure the UAE not to cooperate with China “because these factories will produce advanced artificial intelligence-related chips.” “.
read full report From the Wall Street Journal here.