Morris Chang, (張忠謀) chairman of the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), said yesterday that the impact of the New Taiwan dollar’s recent appreciation was within his expectations.
On Friday the NT dollar closed at NT$30.793 against the US dollar, up 4.1 percent against the greenback since the beginning of last month. Economists fear that the currency’s appreciation could hurt exports by electronics companies like TSMC.
“The appreciation has in fact had an impact on TSMC’s operations, but it was within the range that I expected,” Chang said after his speech at the Eighth Annual Global Views Business Forum in Taipei.
The two-day forum, held since 2003 and this year focusing on integrating Chinese talent and resources, is being attended by business representatives from the US, Singapore, China and Taiwan, organizer Global Views Monthly said.
The TSMC chairman said, however, that TSMC was structurally different from industry rivals because of its capital-intensive foundries, which help generate a 50 percent gross margin, compared with 8 percent for other players.
The high gross margin, he said, was generated by the chip sector’s high added-value derived from the development of technology and capital.
Chang suggested that small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should tie their operations closer together to cooperate on technological development and attract investment to create well-paid jobs.
Earlier, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pointed to the importance of SMEs in creating jobs. He said 76 percent of Taiwan’s employment openings were from its SMEs, which account for 98 percent of the total number of companies in the country.
He said Taiwan’s industrial structure needs to be adjusted to help narrow the gap between rich and poor.
Asked if the leaders of Taiwan and China would meet face-to-face next year or in 2012, Ma said with a smile that he would “seriously consider the idea.”
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