Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, many announce today that it has won Intel Corp’s contract to supply its mobile Internet device (MID) and the Intel Atom processor, a local media report yesterday.
This not only marks the first time that Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, has outsourced its processor manufacturing, but also is an important contract for the Hsinchu-based TSMC for entering the contract manufacturing market for processors, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported yesterday.
Intel executive vice president Sean Maloney and TSMC global sales and marketing vice president Jason Chen (陳俊聖) will hold a joint press conference tonight at Intel’s executive briefing center in Santa Clara, California. TSMC chief executive Rick Tsai (蔡力行) will also attend, the report said.
Statistics provided by market research firm IC Insights Inc showed that Intel was the world’s largest semiconductor firm last year, while TSMC ranked fifth.
Intel chief executive officer Paul Otellini said last week that the company might outsource manufacturing of its Nand Flash memory chips, and a wire report said on Saturday that TSMC could be in talks with Intel over a new contract to supply Nand Flash.
The wire report, however, also said Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Ultra Mobility Group, had hinted that this press conference would be related to the Atom processor.
No matter whether Intel outsources its Nand Flash or Atom processor manufacturing to TSMC, it will help boost TSMC’s capacity utilization rate, the report said.
TSMC yesterday only confirmed that the press conference would be held today, but declined to reveal further information.
A Central News Agency report said that Intel had outsourced production of its South Bridge chips to TSMC in the past, but turned to self-production in recent years, citing an industry insider.
Since the onset of the global financial crisis late last year, many integrated device manufacturers have been forced to close their plants and outsource to contract manufacturers in a bid to lower costs.
In January, Intel also announced the restructuring of its production department, as well as the closure of five manufacturing facilities in Asia and the US.
From a cost perspective, an industry insider said Intel might outsource its orders to TSMC again, the report said.
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) is weighing whether to add a life insurance business to its portfolio, but would tread cautiously after completing three acquisitions in quick succession, president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said yesterday. “We are carefully considering whether life insurance should play a role in SinoPac’s business map,” Chu told reporters ahead of an earnings conference. “Our priority is to ensure the success of the deals we have already made, even though we are tracking some possible targets.” Local media have reported that Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽), which is seeking buyers amid financial strains, has invited three financial
CAUTION: Right now, artificial intelligence runs on faith, not productivity and eventually, the risk of a bubble will emerge,’ TIER economist Gordon Sun said Taiwanese manufacturers turned more optimistic last month, ending a five-month streak of declining sentiment as concerns over US tariffs, currency volatility and China’s overcapacity began to ease, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) said yesterday. The manufacturing business confidence index rose 1.17 points from June to 86.8, its first rebound since February. TIER economist Gordon Sun (孫明德) attributed the uptick to fading trade uncertainties, a steadier New Taiwan dollar and reduced competitive pressure from Chinese producers. Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is unlikely to face significant damage from Washington’s ongoing probe into semiconductors, given the US’ reliance on Taiwanese chips to power artificial
RSS