TSMC Will Not Shift Chip Production To Mainland China Clarifies Taiwanese Ministry Apr 23, 2021 12:49 EDT
Taiwan s Ministry of Economic Affairs has denied rumors that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to shift some of its chip manufacturing capacity to China. The rumors surfaced earlier this week as some speculated that TSMC would shift to its facility in Nanjing, China, as it faces water and electricity shortages in Taiwan. This alleged shift, now denied by the Taiwanese government, would involve the capacity relocation of 12,000 wafers for mature chipmaking processes such as the 28nm chip node.
TSMC Refuses To Comment On Rumors Of Capacity Shift To China As Per Company Policy
TSMC: 5G smartphone production boosts demand
TSMC Chairman, Liu Deyin, and President, Wei Zhejia, pointed out that thanks to the continuous increase in production of 5G smartphones and high-performance computing (HPC), the overall demand for electronic products has further increased this year. Liu Deyin and Wei Zhejia claim that in terms of mobile phones, high-performance computing, and the Internet of Things, the Internet of Things continues to grow due to products such as Bluetooth headsets, smartwatches, and smart speakers. According to them, the unit shipments of Internet of Things devices will see an annual increase of 30%.
Other reports claim that the unit shipments of major high-performance computing products increased by 11% last year. This year, high-performance computing platform unit shipments are expected to show single-digit percentage growth. It is expected that a number of factors will drive the demand for high-performance computing platforms.
Apple Supplier TSMC warns that Trade Tensions could disrupt Supply of key Chip Equipment
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker, warned for the first time that trade tensions may disrupt its access to key production equipment and hit its operations, amid increasing friction between the U.S. and China.
The Bloomberg report noted that The company, which produces semiconductors for Apple Inc. and other major global tech companies, said in its annual report released on Friday that ongoing trade tensions or protectionist measures could result in increased prices for, or even unavailability of, key equipment. It pointed to factors such as delays or denials of export licenses, additional export control measures, and other tariff or non-tariff barriers. Below is the full statement from TSMC s U.S. SEC Form 20-F filing on this point:
TSMC: Shortage of automotive chips will significantly improve soon
Reports from industry insiders show there is a global chip shortage in the automotive industry. This shortage is beginning to spread to large automobile companies such as Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Stellatis, Hyundai, and so on. As of now, there are still no obvious signs of relief. The scope of the chip shortage influence is still expanding, and it even affects Nissan. According to insider reports, many factories in Japan will significantly reduce production next month due to chip shortages. Resolving the current shortage of automotive chips requires strong support from chip foundries. TSMC, the world’s largest chip foundry, announced in January this year that they will provide automotive chip suppliers with capacity support as their top priority.
At the end of last year, many car companies around the world have cut production or even stopped production due to chip shortages. However, the chip shortage issue does not simply stop at automobile companies. Due to the increasing problem of chip shortages, there is lower production in the PC, smartphone, and game console industries.
In addition, due to global chip shortages, the production capacity of OLED screens has also been affected to varying degrees. As a leader in the screen supply chain, Samsung Display OLED panels have recently been snapped up by many smartphone manufacturers.
A few days ago, there were reports from supply chain sources that mobile phone manufacturers, including Xiaomi, Apple, OPPO, and Vivo, plan to sign a large number of OLED procurement contracts with Samsung Display in 2022. Among them, Xiaomi will purchase a large number of flexible OLED screens from Samsung Display.