Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its board of directors has approved the issuance of US$1 billion of unsecured bonds in Taiwan and up to US$8 billion of bonds in the US to fund its capacity expansion.
The chipmaker told investors last month that it plans to invest US$8 billion in a 12-inch fab in Arizona over the next three years, a part of its US$12 billion investment in the US from this year to 2029.
The Arizona fab is under construction and is to start producing 5-nanometer chips in the first quarter of 2024, it said.
Photo: Bloomberg
TSMC has raised its capital spending for this year to US$30 billion, with 80 percent of the amount earmarked for advanced technology capacity expansion that includes 3-nanometer, 5-nanometer and 7-nanometer technologies in Taiwan.
The board approved capital appropriations of about US$17.57 billion for the installation of advanced, mature and specialty technology capacity, as well as the installation and upgrade of advanced packaging capacity, TSMC said in a statement.
The funds will also cover research and development, and capital expenditure for next quarter.
The directors also ratified a donation of 5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to the Centers for Disease Control to help curb a domestic virus outbreak.
The overall cost of the donation is estimated at US$175 million, including vaccine procurement, cold-chain logistics, handling services and insurance, it said.
The board also approved a proposal to pay a cash dividend of NT$2.75 per share for the second quarter of this year.
In a separate statement, TSMC said its revenue contracted 16.1 percent to NT$124.56 billion (US$4.48 billion) last month from NT$148.47 billion in June.
On an annual basis, revenue expanded 17.5 percent from NT$105.96 billion.
Consolidated revenue expanded 18.1 percent to NT$859.11 billion in the first seven months of this year, compared with NT$727.26 billion in the same period last year.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
RSS