Dhe Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC has no plans to build a semiconductor factory in Europe for the time being. Despite the EU’s investment program, there are no concrete plans, said Mark Liu, chairman of the board of directors, at the general meeting on Wednesday. Such a commitment is currently being considered at best, but not explored, planned or negotiated. The Taiwanese are thus putting a stop to previous business games in the industry that another large-scale investment is pending in Europe.
Brussels presented its European Chips Act in February. With the industrial and economic policy framework, it wants to regain lost ground in one of the most important sectors and make the EU attractive for chip manufacturers from overseas. They should set up new plants on the old continent and ensure the supply of European industrial customers with modern semiconductors in the medium to long term.
growth of more than 30 percent
The American chip manufacturer Intel announced in March that it would invest heavily in Europe and set up a research, development and production network in the EU. TSMC was considered the second major candidate for such a commitment. The Taiwanese, however, now appear to be concentrating on their ongoing large-scale investments in America and Asia. There they put billions into the conversion, expansion and new construction of their production capacities.
Despite the current uncertainties in the world, the company’s Supervisory Board and Executive Board are assuming strong growth in the entire industry. The company’s sales are expected to increase by around a third this year, as Liu said at the shareholders’ meeting. So far, the group had expected growth in the region of 20 percent. With this growth target, TSMC would be well above the industry average.
Industry booming
According to the European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA), the industry will generate around 16 percent more revenue in 2022 than in 2021 – and thus exceed the sales mark of 650 billion euros. The hurdle of one trillion euros should then be reached by 2030 at the latest. As announced by ESIA on Wednesday, Asia will remain the largest manufacturing region in the world, followed by America and Europe. Asian companies such as Samsung and TSMC are among the key drivers of this development.
Last year, the Taiwanese redeemed about a quarter more than in the previous year. TSMC ended 2021 with a record profit of 596.54 billion Taiwan dollars (18 billion euros). Sales rose 18 percent to 1,587 billion Taiwan dollars. The investments amounted to more than 25 billion euros. In the coming year, they should amount to around 40 billion euros.
With the global chip demand increasing, TSMC keeps upgrading its plants, factories and plants, with a firm eye on the markets of Asia, America and Japan. The aim is to permanently secure the position as the world’s economically and technologically leading chip contract manufacturer. The Taiwanese manufacture semiconductor components for the most important manufacturers of computers and smartphones such as Sony, Apple and HP. This makes TSMC a key company not only in the currently flourishing chip industry.
