TSMC's Japan chip venture spurs investment rush

TAIPEI -- Max Lin has headed the international institutional banking division at Taiwan's biggest private bank for years, but only recently has he seen its Japan business flourish. The reason can be summed up in one word: chips.

"Many of our Taiwanese clients and even customers from Southeast Asia voice interest in investing in Japan, particularly Kumamoto, thanks to semiconductor incentives," Lin, executive vice president at CTBC Bank, told Nikkei Asia.