Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) new investments in advanced 16-nanometer (nm) and 10nm technologies were thwarted again as a development project was suspended in the third environmental review on Wednesday.
However, the company might engage a backup plan to build new advanced factories in Southern Taiwan Science Park if its investment plan makes no progress in the Central Taiwan Science Park, TSMC chief financial officer Lora Ho (何麗梅) told reporters last week.
TSMC, which supplies microprocessors for Apple Inc’s iPhone 6 series, was reportedly planning to invest NT$500 billion (US$15.9 billion) on building new 16nm and 10nm capacities in central Taiwan over the next few years.
The Central Taiwan Science Park Administration said that it expects TSMC’s new investments to create 7,000 jobs and generate NT$300 billion in revenue after operations begin in 2019.
The company has been asked to submit more supplementary information for an air pollution evaluation and health risk assessment after it failed the five-hour review on Wednesday.
The chipmaker plans to spend a record US$12 billion this year — mostly on 16nm and 10nm technologies — to safeguard its market share.
TSMC is scheduled to ramp up production of 16nm chips in the third quarter this year, with its 10nm technology likely to enter volume production in 2017.
TSMC shares fell 0.71 percent yesterday to close at NT$140 in Taipei trading, underperforming the TAIEX, which rose 0.53 percent.
UBS Securities Ltd has a “buy” rating on TSMC shares, with a target share price of NT$180, implying another 28.57 percent upside in the next 12 months.
“We believe TSMC’s share price this year will be supported by increasing Apple business; the expectation of a larger cash dividend; rising book value valuation; and improving profitability,” UBS said in a note on Wednesday.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
RSS