Foundry service provider Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) yesterday said it is adjusting its product portfolio for its new 12-inch fab in Singapore to meet a customer’s demand for interposers used in advanced packaging technology for artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
Vanguard said it would license and transfer related technologies from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and manufacturing equipment supplied by the customer to produce interposers on 30-nanometer and 40-nanometer technologies at the fab.
The fab would also produce mixed-signal, power management and analog chips when it enters volume production in the first quarter of next year, said Vanguard, which is 27 percent owned by TSMC.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
The fab would be operated by VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Pte Ltd (VSMC), a joint venture with NXP Semiconductors NV. Vanguard owns 60 percent of VSMC, while NXP holds 40 percent.
The total investment in the Singaporean fab is US$6.7 billion, Vanguard said.
The company yesterday also scaled down the installed capacity at the fab to 44,000 12-inch wafers a month, down from 55,000 previously planned, due to the addition of interposers to the product lineups and the complexity of the chips.
“The first-phase production of 44,000 wafers has been sold out and supported by the customer’s long-term agreement,” Vanguard chairman Fang Leuh (方略) said at an earnings conference.
“The fab should be fully loaded earlier than in 2029,” Fang said.
Vanguard is in preliminary discussions with customers to initiate the second-phase capacity expansion of the fab, Fang said.
Vanguard said it plans to allocate NT$60 billion to NT$70 billion (US$1.9 billion to US$2.21 billion) for capital expenditures this year, with 85 percent earmarked for the Singaporean fab.
Vanguard’s revenue growth this year is expected to outpace the global semiconductor industry’s growth, company president John Wei (尉濟時) said.
Factory utilization rate is projected to improve 85 percent to 90 percent in the second half of this year, from 80 percent in the first quarter, he said.
Moreover, AI-related products are expected to contribute a low double-digit percentage to the company’s total revenue this year, up from a low-single-digit percentage last year, Wei said.
AI-related chip revenue more than doubled last year, and the uptrend is expected to extend into next year, he said.
This quarter, wafer shipments are expected to expand 11 percent to 13 percent sequentially, and the average selling price is likely to rise 2 to 4 percent from last quarter due to price hikes, the company said.
Vanguard said it has seen strong demand for chips used in AI servers, smartphones and wearable devices.
“Demand is picking up gradually this quarter, as customers are building inventory again,” Wei said. “We have our order visibility stretching to four months.”
The company said its net profit in the first quarter fell about 10 percent to NT$2.16 billion from NT$2.41 billion a year earlier, but grew 29.8 percent from NT$1.67 billion in the previous quarter.
Earnings per share dropped to NT$1.18 from NT$1.3 a year ago, but rose from NT$0.93 in the previous quarter, it said.
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
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
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS