Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday tumbled 2.23 percent as investors cautioned of the adverse effects of a US ban on using products from China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (華為).
TSMC supplies advanced 7-nanometer processors to HiSilicon Technologies Co (海思半導體), the chip-designing arm of Huawei.
Shares of TSMC fell to NT$241.5, contributing to a NT$609.36 billion (US$19.47 billion) drop in market capital for the company since May 5, when US President Donald Trump tweeted that the US would hike tariffs on US$325 billion of Chinese goods.
Trump on Thursday signed an executive order declaring a national emergency that would ban US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by firms that might pose national security risks.
The US Department of Commerce later added Huawei and its affiliates to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s “Entity List,” barring the companies from procuring components and technology from US firms without government approval.
Huawei’s handset manufacturing and even sales might have to shut down completely due to the ban, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said.
That might mean an order loss for TSMC, which mainly provides high-end processors such as its 7-nanometer Kirin 980 chipset to Huawei, the investment consultant said.
“The impact would likely be neutral,” as the loss might be compensated by order gains from MediaTek Inc (聯發科) or Qualcomm Inc, Yuanta said.
Washington might next ban US companies from exporting key components to China, or even from selling software to Huawei, it said.
“Our channel checks suggest that the market generally believes Huawei has raised its inventory to a level that would enable it to meet seven months of demand,” Yuanta said.
Even if the US bars component exports to China across the board, the effects on Huawei should be limited in the short term, it said.
TSMC is not the only firm in Huawei’s supply chain to suffer the brunt of the US ban.
Shares of Largan Precision Co (大立光), which supplies camera lens to Huawei and Apple Inc, yesterday plunged 9.41 percent to NT$3,850.
Since May 5, Largan’s market value has tumbled NT$110.67 billion.
The US ban might weigh on Huawei’s handset sales growth this year, Yuanta said, adding that Huawei mainly purchased camera lens and flat panels from Taiwanese suppliers.
WIN-WIN SITUATION: Customers, products and client portfolios of the companies are complementary, allowing for inroads into new fields, Chipbond’s chairman said Chipbond Technology Corp (頎邦) yesterday said it plans to acquire about a 31 percent stake in Orient Semiconductor Electronics Ltd (華泰電子) in a cash-and-share deal, aiming to make inroads into flash memory-chip packaging. Chipbond said the strategic alliance would open the door for the company to enter the flash memorychip packaging and testing market, which is a new business for the Hsinchu-based company. Chipbond primarily provides testing and packaging services for driver integrated circuits that are used in flat panels. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY “Except for flash memory chips, we also saw a lot of new businesses that require the technologies of Chipbond or Oriental
MOMENTUM: While next-generation smartphones feature more semiconductors and vendors increase their inventory, the chipmaker remains focused on production in Taiwan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the sole chip supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhone series, yesterday raised its revenue forecast again, saying that robust demand for 5G smartphones and high-performance-computing (HPC) would help boost revenue this year by 30 percent in US dollar terms. Three months ago, the chipmaker estimated that revenue would grow 20 percent this year from last year, reaching its long-term growth target of 15 to 20 percent annually. “Moving into the fourth quarter, we expect our growth in revenue to be supported by strong demand for our industry-leading 5-nanometer technology driven by 5G smartphone launches and HPC-related applications,”
Luxury hotel Mandarin Oriental Taipei (文華東方酒店) plans to reopen its guestrooms in December to take advantage of a boom in domestic travel. The reopening would come six months after the five-star facility suspended room operations to cut costs as countries across the region impose border controls to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, diminishing demand for business travel. “We are delighted to share that Mandarin Oriental Taipei will resume room operations on December 1,” the hotel said in a statement yesterday. The hotel in Songshan District (松山) said it would adopt stringent health and safety practices to ensure the well-being of its guests and employees. It
India’s COVID-19 economic gloom turned into despair this week, on news that its per capita GDP for this year might be lower than that of Bangladesh. “Any emerging economy doing well is good news,” Kaushik Basu, a former World Bank chief economist, said on Twitter after the IMF updated its World Economic Outlook. “But it’s shocking that India, which had a lead of 25% five years ago, is now trailing.” Ever since it began opening up the economy in the 1990s, India’s dream has been to emulate China’s rapid expansion. After three decades of persevering with that campaign, slipping behind Bangladesh hurts
RSS