Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) remained the world’s third-largest IC supplier in the first quarter of this year, while MediaTek Inc (聯發科) was the industry’s 10th-largest firm, moving up six spots from the previous quarter, advisory firm IC Insights said on Tuesday.
Contract chipmaker TSMC posted sales of US$12.91 billion, up 25 percent from a year earlier, IC Insights said in a report.
TSMC benefited from strong global demand for emerging technologies such as 5G applications, and high-performance computing and Internet of Things devices, the report said.
Photo: Bloomberg
Sales at MediaTek, Taiwan’s largest IC designer, grew 90 percent year-on-year to US$3.85 billion, it said.
On the back of strong shipments of 5G chips, MediaTek overtook six of its rivals, including Infineon Technologies AG of Germany, which posted US$3.25 billion in sales, and STMicroelectronics NV of Switzerland, which posted US$3.01 billion in sales, the report said.
MediaTek’s growth in the first quarter was the second-largest among companies in the ranking, behind Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) of the US, which advanced from 18th to 11th place on the back of a 93 percent sales increase to US$3.45 billion.
MediaTek and AMD replaced China’s HiSilicon Technologies Inc (海思半導體) and Japan’s Sony Corp in the top 15.
HiSilicon, which ranked 12th in last year’s ranking, is the semiconductor design division of telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為), which accounts for more than 90 percent of its sales.
Since the fourth quarter of last year, US sanctions impeded HiSilicon from purchasing ICs from its main supplier, TSMC, the report said.
The worldwide largest IC firm was Intel Corp of the US, defending its top spot despite a year-on-year decline in sales of 4 percent to US$18.68 billion, it said.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co remained in second place, posting sales of US$17.07 billion, up 15 percent from a year earlier, it said.
TSMC was trailed by South Korean DRAM chipmaker SK Hynix Inc in fourth place, posting sales of US$7.63 billion, the report said.
US firms ranked fifth to ninth: Micron Technology Co with US$6.58 billion in sales, Qualcomm Inc with US$6.28 billion, Broadcom Inc with US$4.84 billion, Nvidia Corp with US$4.63 billion and Texas Instruments Inc with US$4.03 billion, the report said.
Apple Inc ranked 13th with its chip division posting sales of US$3.08 billion, it said.
Japan’s Kioxia Corp claimed the last spot on the list with sales of US$2.59 billion, the report said.
The top 15 IC firms posted a combined US$101.86 billion in sales, up 21 percent from a year earlier, IC Insights said.
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
RSS