Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that it plans to roughly double its capacity expansion over the next three years to cope with rapidly growing demand for chips used in high-performance computing (HPC) applications and electronic devices.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a global digital transformation as lockdowns led to a surge in demand for PCs and other devices that connect to the Internet, the Hsinchu-based chipmaker said.
Chip demand also rose due to increased usage of contactless payment tools and the growing popularity of electric vehicles, it said.
Photo: CNA
“We started speeding up our capacity expansion at the beginning of last year, but the semiconductor supply chain was still unable to catch up ... with demand growth,” TSMC senior vice president Y.P. Chin (秦永沛) told a semiconductor forum organized by National Cheng Kung University in Tainan.
Since then, a global semiconductor supply crunch has shown no signs of alleviating, Chin said, adding that supply constraints have been even worse lately because of component disruptions.
However, the supply chain disruption is just a short-term phenomenon, he said.
The key issue is how to cope with the voracious demand for chips used in HPC-related applications and electronic devices, with the trend fueled by digital transformation, he said.
TSMC said it expects the global semiconductor industry to show compound annual growth of more than 10 percent from this year to 2025, outpacing growth of 7 percent in the five years to last year and 3 percent from 2000 to 2015.
To seize this opportunity, TSMC is approximately doubling the pace of its capacity expansion from this year to 2023, compared with the three years to last year, Chin said.
The rapid expansion could widen the lead it has over its closest foundry competitor, Chin said, adding that TSMC’s total capacity last year was about three times greater than its rival’s foundry capacity.
TSMC on Tuesday unveiled new capacity expansion plans in Taiwan and Japan.
A new fab in Japan is to produce 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips, while a new plant in Kaohsiung is to focus on 7-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips, the company said after its board of directors approved a capital budget of US$9.04 billion.
Construction of the two fabs is scheduled to begin next year, with mass production expected to begin in 2024.
Taiwan has an advantage over other countries and regions in helping chipmakers to build cost-effective fabs, given its sound semiconductor ecosystem and supply chains, which took the nation 30 years to foster, Chin said.
“Although many countries consider semiconductor manufacturing to be a national security issue amid geopolitical tensions, it is not easy to make chips locally,” Chin said.
The semiconductor industry is capital-intensive, technology-intensive and labor-intensive, he said, adding that it might be easy for wealthy countries to raise capital to make chips, but a semiconductor ecosystem and supply chains cannot be created overnight.
“We are very optimistic about Taiwan’s semiconductor industry for at least for the next 10 years,” he said.
TSMC founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) last week said that it would “not ... be a possible task” to rebuild semiconductor supply chains in the US due to high costs.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
‘SALAMI-SLICING’: Beijing’s ‘gray zone’ tactics around the Pratas Islands have been slowly intensifying, with the PLA testing Taiwan’s responses and limits, an expert said The Ministry of National Defense yesterday condemned an intrusion by a Chinese drone into the airspace of the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) as a serious disruption of regional peace. The ministry said it detected the Chinese surveillance and reconnaissance drone entering the southwestern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone early yesterday, and it approached the Pratas Islands at 5:41am. The ministry said it immediately notified the garrison stationed in the area to enhance aerial surveillance and alert levels, and the drone was detected in the islands’ territorial airspace at 5:44am, maintaining an altitude outside the effective range of air-defense weaponry. Following
RSS