Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and SONY Group Corp. (SONY:NYSE) said they would build a $7 billion chip plant in Japan in a bid to ease the strain on the semiconductors supply chain globally.Although the move was welcomed by the Japanese government, the semiconductor industry’s bets for tomorrow aren’t addressing the problems of today.Forecasts anticipate global chip manufacturers to pour about $146 billion into capital expenditure this year, with less than $1 of every $6 earmarked for the so-called legacy chips facing the longest backlogs at the moment.Sony will invest about $500 million in the factory, and construction will begin in 2022, which the media said would supply semiconductors to Sony’s image sensor business.These investments reflect how the scarcest chips get made with older technology and equipment that requires less money. But, it also shows that many semiconductor makers are cautious about making multibillion-dollar bets on the needed chips, given the slim profits and the risk of a falloff in demand.The plant’s mass production isn’t set to start until late 2024, so it won’t help solve the problems hitting the production of cars and electronics. It also means that the world’s legacy-chip supply won’t catch up with projected demand through 2024, a tech-market researcher estimates.Nonetheless, the move by TSMC and Sony marks a success for Japanese industry ministry officials, who want chipmaker TSMC to build plants to supply chips to Japan’s electronic device makers and auto companies.TSMC is building a $12 billion chip fabrication plant in the US state of Arizona and has pledged to spend $100 billion over the next three years to expand chip capacity.To learn more about stock and investments, visit MEXEM.Resources: https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/sony-to-invest-500-million-in-tsmcs-new-chip-unit-in-japan-2672960 Dow Jones Global News