Capex amortizable across the life of the fab and usually treated beneficially for tax purposes (though these fabs are so tax-special that may be meaningless). Opex is with you forever and affects the economics of the business much more profoundly.
The semiconductor industry is somewhat special in that it requires nearly constant investment in not just R&D but also in upgrading existing fabs to keep up with the cutting edge. And these are well into the billions of dollars.
This is not a problem for players who have dropped out of the race like GloFlo. But its definitely the case for TSMC, Intel and Samsung. Your last three serious players who aren't working for the PRC.
