Despite economic uncertainties, TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker, expects continued strong growth and plans to invest heavily in new systems. Sales are expected to increase by about 30 percent this year, CEO Mark Liu said. Previously, TSMC executives had forecast growth in the mid-to-high 20 percent—in US dollars. Last year, turnover on this basis had already increased by a quarter.
In the coming year, the group’s investments will certainly exceed $40 billion (37.5 billion euros), Liu said at the Taiwanese group’s annual general meeting.
TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) and rivals such as Samsung, Globalfoundries or the American chip company Intel are currently investing a lot of money in building additional production capacity. Because there is a shortage of certain chips in various sectors worldwide – in Germany the car groups Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW and Daimler Truck are particularly affected.
Intel plans factories in Europe, TSMC currently not
In Magdeburg, for example, Intel plans to invest 17 billion euros in chip factories, subsidized by public funds. According to Liu, TSMC currently has no concrete plans to build factories in Europe. The company makes semiconductors for major customers such as Apple, Nvidia and AMD.
Photo gallery: this is what it looks like in TSMC factories
Against the background of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, soaring inflation in key regions of the world and lockdown restrictions in China, fears of falling demand for tech equipment had increased recently.
But the decline in demand mainly affects consumer devices such as smartphones and PCs, while demand for electric cars is very strong, Liu said. TSMC therefore also fits in this area. The group is active all year round.
New TSMC plants in the US and Japan
Despite the investment program “European Chips Act”, TSMC is initially not attracted to Europe and Germany. There are no “concrete plans,” said Chairman Mark Liu. We are still busy assessing the situation. It is already established that in the ongoing chip crisis, TSMC is investing about 12 billion dollars in new factories in the US and is building a factory in Japan together with Sony.
Launched in February, the “European Chips Act” enables billions in grants from public and private sources in the European Union. According to insiders, there would have been talks between TSMC and Dresden about the construction of a factory in the Saxon capital.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
