Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) said yesterday it did not plan to collaborate with Chinese rival Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯國際) in China.
There had been speculation among analysts of such a scenario after SMIC offered to pay TSMC US$200 million in damages and 1.79 billion in shares, or an 8 percent stake in the Shanghai-based chipmaker, to settle a long-running patent lawsuit.
“We do not have such a plan,” TSMC chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) said in response to a reporter’s question about whether the settlement could lead to a partnership with SMIC, China’s biggest chipmaker.
Chang said TSMC would play a “passive” role as a SMIC shareholder if it was allowed to hold a stake.
At present it is against the law for Taiwanese companies to invest or hold shares in Chinese semiconductor companies.
On Wednesday, TSMC said it had no intention of getting involved in the operations of SMIC, refuting speculation about a potential merger reported by the Chinese-language newspaper DigiTimes.
TSMC currently operates an 8-inch plant in Shanghai with annual output of 531,000 8-inch wafers.
Fan Liang-tung (范良棟), head of the Investment Commission, said yesterday the commission was reviewing letting Taiwanese firms invest in Chinese chipmakers through mergers and acquisitions.
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