TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The United Kingdom is not interested in replicating Taiwan’s success story as a producer of semiconductors, U.K. tech minister Paul Scully said Thursday (Aug. 3).

The cabinet official said the U.K. should focus on chip design instead of funding major semiconductor manufacturing projects, the Financial Times reported. The newspaper quoted him as saying that the British chip sector could not recreate Taiwan in South Wales.

Scully’s comments seemed to rule out following the path taken by several other countries, which are trying to attract major investment from chipmaking giants, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). The company has projects planned in Arizona and in the Japanese city of Kumamoto, and it is widely believed to be talking about government subsidies for a fab in the German city of Dresden.

Scully said his country should build on its existing strengths, including advanced packaging and design. The U.K. could play a key part in the global supply chain without having to compete as a semiconductor manufacturer, he said.