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.
Photo:An Rong Xu, Bloomberg
In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce about increases in manufacturing costs in the US if the levies were implemented, he said.
As TSMC sources some manufacturing equipment from US equipment makers, such as Applied Materials Inc, those suppliers could face the burden of the levies on equipment made in Asia, he said.
“We told them that tariffs would do no good for any party under such circumstances,” Wei said. “They said they would take such circumstances into consideration.”
Regarding sector-specific tariffs on semiconductors, he said the company simply requested “fair treatment” to safeguard its competitiveness, adding that TSMC has no control over tariffs, which are determined through negotiations between governments.
Nevertheless, the chipmaker said it is certain that AI chips would fuel its revenue growth this year.
“Demand is very high,” Wei said. “We are trying hard to increase supply, but still unable to fully satisfy demand.”
The company has also more than doubled its capacity of advanced packaging technology, or chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, to alleviate constraints, but supply remains tight, he said.
The chipmaker yesterday maintained a forecast for 25 percent growth in full-year revenue and expects net profit to set a record high this year.
However, it dismissed a Bloomberg News report about its evaluation about building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates, saying the likelihood was slim, because of a lack of customers.
“When TSMC evaluates a potential site to build a manufacturing fab, customer demand is always the No. 1 factor,” Wei said. “Chip designers are [mostly] from the US, Taiwan and China. A few are from Europe or Japan. That’s all.”
The US remains a relatively ideal site to build new manufacturing facilities, given the country’s long history in semiconductors, and its larger pool of experienced engineers and workers, he said.
However, it would be “very, very difficult” for TSMC to build US$100 billion factories in the US as planned as it takes at least two to two-and-a-half years to build an advanced fab, he added.
TSMC yesterday said every 1 percent of appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar would reduce its gross margin by 0.4 percentage points.
An 8 percent appreciation of the NT dollar against the US dollar so far this year has eroded more than 3 percentage points of its gross margin, it added.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS