There’s no shortage of sand, but chip plants are thirsty for something even more precious: water Despite finding itself at the center of the United States' trade war with China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is quickly establishing itself as a hotbed for AI development and its aspirations could soon extend to semiconductor manufacturing.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics reportedly have been considering building large new chip-making factories in the United Arab Emirates amid surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) computing.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported that both TSMC and Samsung Electronics are in discussions about plans to build large semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the coming years. These plants would...