TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) said that it has submitted an application to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to set up a 12-inch wafer fab and a design service center in Nanjing, China, reported Economic Daily News on December 8. The US$3 billion project—the largest ever invested by a Taiwanese company in China—will be wholly-owned by TSMC to safeguard its know-how and intellectual property. According to TSMC's plan, the Nanjing facility will begin volume production of 16nm process technology in the second half of 2018, with a monthly capacity of 20,000 wafers. The fab will house some 1,200 staff and design service center, 500 staff. Over 50% of the employees will be coming from Taiwan.