Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) shares tumbled 3.03 percent yesterday as investors worried about an Intel Corp plan to return to the foundry business.
The stock closed at NT$571 in Taipei trading, with turnover surging to 115.32 million shares, the most in about a month, after Intel chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger announced it would invest US$20 billion to build two new fabs in Arizona, as well as develop a new standalone foundry business to make chips for other companies.
At the same time, Intel would bolster its partnerships with third-party foundries to farm out more production, Intel said in a statement.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The move might create an awkward competitive-collaboration environment between the company and foundries.
The Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker is to offer intellectual property (IP) portfolios for customers, including for its own x86 cores, as well as Arm Ltd and RISC-V ecosystem IP, it said.
The announcement is a clear indication that “Intel is determined to come back to foundry business,” Cornucopia Capital Partner Ltd (聚芯資本) managing partner Eric Chen (陳慧明) said by telephone.
“This is certainly bad news for TSMC, but how bad it is depends on how Intel allocates its capacity and resources to fulfill its goal of becoming a world-class foundry,” Chen said.
All in all, it will require more than determination for Intel to become a real challenger to TSMC, the world’s biggest foundry service provider, he said.
“There is a long way to go,” Chen said, adding that TSMC has become a big foundry with significant capacity and IP investment.
“I doubt Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp or Advanced Micro Devices Inc will turn to Intel for chip supply, given unresolved lawsuits and direct competition,” he said.
Intel has lagged behind TSMC in advancing chip manufacturing technologies.
The US chipmaker yesterday said it is to enter the final design stage of 7-nanometer chips this year, while TSMC plans to start mass production of 3-nanometer chips next year.
“Intel is doing the right thing,” Chen said.
Its plan would allow the company to secure substantial subsides and resources from the US government, as Washington is pushing for products to be made in the US and reduce its dependence on TSMC for chip supply, he said.
In addition, Intel’s heavy investment in new fabs would attract suppliers of semiconductor components and materials to Arizona, making the state a major semiconductor manufacturing hub, like science parks in Taiwan, he said.
TSMC in 2023 plans to complete a new US$12 billion fab in Arizona to make 5-nanometer chips.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on a pressing national issue: The rebranding of a restaurant chain. Last week, Cracker Barrel, a Tennessee company whose nationwide locations lean heavily on a cozy, old-timey aesthetic — “rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table” — announced it was updating its logo. Uncle Herschel, the man who once appeared next to the letters with a barrel, was gone. It sparked ire on the right, with Donald Trump Jr leading a charge against the rebranding: “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?!” Later, Trump Sr weighed
LIMITED IMPACT: Investor confidence was likely sustained by its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as only less advanced chips are made in Nanjing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) saw its stock price close steady yesterday in a sign that the loss of the validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing, China, fab should have a mild impact on the world’s biggest contract chipmaker financially and technologically. Media reports about the waiver loss sent TSMC down 1.29 percent during the early trading session yesterday, but the stock soon regained strength and ended at NT$1,160, unchanged from Tuesday. Investors’ confidence in TSMC was likely built on its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as Chinese customers contributed about 9 percent to TSMC’s revenue last
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
RSS