TSMC denies investing in Chinese firm

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufac-turing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world's largest made-to-order chipmaker, yesterday denied media reports that it is investing in a Chinese integrated-chip (IC) design house in an attempt to expand its customer lineup.

TSMC's Morris Chang (張忠謀) yesterday called for the intervention of the Minister of Economic Affairs, Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥), saying that the company's investments in China complied with government regulations and it would therefore not invest in Chinese IC design companies.

Chang's came after the Chinese-language press reported yesterday that TSMC was planning to invest in a handset IC design house to be jointly established by China's heavyweight home-appliance maker TCL Corp and venture capital firms.

Glenda Hu (胡正大), who resigned as TSMC's marketing vice president last month, will take the helm at the IC design joint venture, the reports said.

Ho Chang as saying that TSMC did not plan to cultivate potential clients through Hu and that the company's policy dictated that former employees could not work for its competitors.

Robert Tsao (曹興誠), founder of TSMC's smaller rival United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), was indicted last week for alleged illegal investing in his company's Chinese competitor He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co (和艦) by providing the company with technological know-how.

TSMC a fab in Shanghai with the government's permission, using 0.25-micron processing to manufacture 8-inch wafers. Beijing does not allow Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturers to use more advanced 0.18-micron technology in their fabs in China.

TSMC's Shanghai fab is expected to see its 8-inch-wafer shipments double to 30,000 units next year from 15,000 units this year, to meet fast-growing demand in the Chinese market, local press yesterday cited TSMC's vice chairman Tseng Fan-cheng (曾繁城) as saying at a company forum held in Beijing on Monday.

Meanwhile, UMC, the world's second-largest contract chipmaker, announced in a statement on Monday that it has seen its 90-nanometer-wafer shipments surpass 100,000 units, making it a global leader in wafer volume and using the most advanced technology available.

UMC been leading foundries worldwide in total shipments as well as overall revenue generated from 90-nanometer-wafer sales, the statement said.

The company shipped over 10,000 wafers using advanced 90-nanometer technology during last month alone, and expected its monthly shipments to double by the fourth quarter of this year, driven by strong demand for communication products, consumer electronics and personal computers, UMC said.

Revenue from its 90-nanometer processed chips is expected to increase to 15 percent of total revenue by the end of this quarter, up from 9 percent in the second, and to hit 20 percent in the last quarter, it said.

UMC over 20 kinds of chips using the advanced technology process for clients including Xilinx Inc and Texas Instruments, for use in leading-edge wireless and wired communications products, high-end consumer electronics as well as advanced computing.

TSMC closed unchanged at NT$52 while UMC shares closed up 0.95 percent at NT$21.3 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.