Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to invest NT$400 billion (US$13.5 billion) to expand its Hsinchu production facility as it seeks to regain momentum amid a slowdown in the global smartphone market.
The plans are still in the preliminary stages, as the company still needs the government to help secure land and work on environmental assessments, TSMC spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun (孫又文) said by telephone.
Hsinchu serves as TSMC’s headquarters, a major production facility and includes its research and development center, where it builds the latest chip technology.
Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei Times
While TSMC is expanding into new markets, such as components for cryptocurrency mining, it is confronting a slowdown in demand from smartphone vendors, including Apple Inc, as developed markets become saturated and replacement cycles lengthen.
The company last week forecast revenue for this quarter well short of analyst estimates, setting off a tumble in technology stocks around the world.
The potential investment is not included in the firm’s publicly disclosed plan for as much as US$12 billion of capital expenditure this year, but is incorporated in future projections, Sun said.
She declined to comment on the timeline for the project.
TSMC chief financial officer Lora Ho (何麗梅) has said capital expenditure for the next few years would be between US$10 billion to US$12 billion.
The company is the exclusive core processor provider for Apple’s latest iPhones. It also makes chips for other major tech companies, including Broadcom Inc, Nvidia Corp, Qualcomm Inc and Huawei Technologies Co (華為).
TSMC shares rose 0.68 percent to close at NT$223.5 in Taipei trading yesterday, paring this year’s decline to 2.61 percent.
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