Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) met with a US Department of Commerce official this week.
Chang met with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing Ian Steff and the two exchanged opinions, TSMC said, without elaborating.
TSMC’s statement came after the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) yesterday reported that Steff, who arrived in Taiwan on Thursday last week for a six-day visit to improve bilateral trade and investment, met with Chang in Hsinchu on Monday ahead of a meeting with representatives from the local semiconductor industry.
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is highly complementary to that of the US and Taiwan is an important ally to the US, Steff said.
He also expressed hope that the two sides would step up their cooperation, the Liberty Times reported, citing sources who attended the meeting.
The meeting between Chang and Steff generated media interest in Taiwan, amid reports that China might buy fewer semiconductors from Taiwanese suppliers and more from the US.
The Wall Street Journal on Monday cited sources as saying that US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer have made a list of requests to China, including more Chinese purchases of US semiconductors.
The Financial Times on Monday also reported that Beijing had offered to buy more semiconductors from the US by diverting purchases from Taiwanese and South Korean suppliers.
TSMC only said that its operations would not be affected.
Separately, TSMC is scheduled to start mass production of Renesas Electronics Corp’s new automotive microcontroller unit (MCU) in 2020 on an exclusive basis, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News said yesterday, citing Japanese media reports.
The Japanese company’s automotive MCU, using 28-nanometer node technology, is the most advanced product in the world and has been adopted by several globally renowned auto parts makers, including Denso Corp, the newspaper said, adding that TSMC has submitted the product to clients for certification starting this month.
TSMC declined to comment on the Economic Daily News report.
The Renesas order might further lift TSMC’s earnings and sales, analysts said.
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