Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday tumbled 2.23 percent as investors cautioned of the adverse effects of a US ban on using products from China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (華為).
TSMC supplies advanced 7-nanometer processors to HiSilicon Technologies Co (海思半導體), the chip-designing arm of Huawei.
Shares of TSMC fell to NT$241.5, contributing to a NT$609.36 billion (US$19.47 billion) drop in market capital for the company since May 5, when US President Donald Trump tweeted that the US would hike tariffs on US$325 billion of Chinese goods.
Trump on Thursday signed an executive order declaring a national emergency that would ban US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by firms that might pose national security risks.
The US Department of Commerce later added Huawei and its affiliates to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s “Entity List,” barring the companies from procuring components and technology from US firms without government approval.
Huawei’s handset manufacturing and even sales might have to shut down completely due to the ban, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said.
That might mean an order loss for TSMC, which mainly provides high-end processors such as its 7-nanometer Kirin 980 chipset to Huawei, the investment consultant said.
“The impact would likely be neutral,” as the loss might be compensated by order gains from MediaTek Inc (聯發科) or Qualcomm Inc, Yuanta said.
Washington might next ban US companies from exporting key components to China, or even from selling software to Huawei, it said.
“Our channel checks suggest that the market generally believes Huawei has raised its inventory to a level that would enable it to meet seven months of demand,” Yuanta said.
Even if the US bars component exports to China across the board, the effects on Huawei should be limited in the short term, it said.
TSMC is not the only firm in Huawei’s supply chain to suffer the brunt of the US ban.
Shares of Largan Precision Co (大立光), which supplies camera lens to Huawei and Apple Inc, yesterday plunged 9.41 percent to NT$3,850.
Since May 5, Largan’s market value has tumbled NT$110.67 billion.
The US ban might weigh on Huawei’s handset sales growth this year, Yuanta said, adding that Huawei mainly purchased camera lens and flat panels from Taiwanese suppliers.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
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