Intel Corp shares on Thursday gained on a report that the company has tentatively agreed to a joint venture with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), a sign the beleaguered US chipmaker is moving ahead with a plan that has been highly anticipated by investors.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is to take a 20 percent stake in the new company, the report said.
The shares on Thursday climbed more than 2 percent after the Information Web site reported the news, erasing a decline of more than 5 percent earlier in the session. The shares had been up about 10 percent this year through Wednesday, fueled in part by hopes that Intel would pursue such a move.
Photo: Reuters
Executives from both companies reached a preliminary agreement to form a joint venture that would run Intel’s manufacturing plants, the Information reported.
Intel and other US chipmakers would hold the majority of shares in the initiative, which would include at least some of the US company’s factories, said the news site, which cited unnamed people familiar with the situation.
TSMC yesterday said it has “no comment on market rumors” when responding to an inquiry about the matter from the Taipei Times.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday downplayed the potential combination between TSMC and Intel when he was asked about whether the TSMC-Intel deal would be one of the nation’s bargaining chips in its negotiations to reduce the 32 percent “reciprocal” tariff imposed on Taiwanese imports to the US.
“The principle is that for any ongoing cooperation or negotiations, we will put the country’s interest first,” Cho said. “As for new speculation or news, we have not received any reports yet.”
United Microelectronics Co (UMC, 聯電), Taiwan’s second-largest contract chipmaker, was reportedly in merger talks with US chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc in another push by Washington to secure more less-advanced chip capacity in the US.
UMC denied the report.
Bloomberg News in February reported that TSMC and Intel were discussing the idea at the request of the administration of US President Donald Trump. The scenario is meant to help address Intel’s deteriorating financial state, which has forced the company to cut thousands of jobs and curb its expansion plans.
If the plan goes ahead, it would be a dramatic early step for Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武), who took the job last month.
During an appearance at the Intel Vision conference in Las Vegas on Monday, he said the chipmaker would spin off assets that are not central to its mission.
TSMC has already been stepping up its investments in the US. TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) joined Trump at an event last month and pledged to spend an additional US$100 billion on chipmaking plants in the US.
Additional reporting by Lisa Wang
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS