TSMC says it has discussed moving fabs out of Taiwan, but such a move impossible (updated)

Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing

04/06/2024 06:15

(Adds comments from TSMC chairman and other executives)
       HSINCHU, Taiwan, June 4 (Reuters) - Taiwanese contract
chipmaker TSMC  2330.TW  has held talks with its customers about
whether to move its fabrication plants off the island amid
increased tensions with China, although such a move would be
impossible, a senior executive said on Tuesday.
    Speaking to reporters after the company's annual shareholder
meeting in Hsinchu, where TSMC is headquartered, Chairman C.C.
Wei said that given 80%-90% of its production capacity is in
Taiwan, it would be impossible to move the factories.
    "Unstability across the Taiwan Straits is indeed a
consideration for supply chain, but I want to say that we
certainly do not want wars to happen," Wei told reporters after
the company's annual general meeting.
    Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday it had detected
another Chinese "joint combat readiness patrol" with 23
warplanes operating near Taiwan, as well as warships.
        Increasing tensions between China and Taiwan was among
the major topics discussed at the annual Computex technology
trade show this week in Taipei, and some Taiwanese chipmakers
sought to play down the geopolitical risks.
  
        "Nobody is worried about this yet," Frank Huang,
chairman of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing  6770.TW ,
told reporters at the event, when asked whether foreign
customers were putting pressure on Taiwan firms not to produce
there given the tensions.
  
        "I think of course always there is military activity, or
showdowns, but again Taiwan is so important to AI - even the
Chinese know that. We are OK, no problem," he said.
  
        Advanced Micro Devices  AMD.O  Chief Executive Lisa Su
also reiterated the importance of Taiwan in the global chip
supply chain, when asked about how tensions with China and its
war games could affect the industry.
  
        "We do a lot of our manufacturing here with key
suppliers like TSMC... And then we also have a number of
partners that help us build out the ecosystem here in Taiwan,"
she told reporters at the show on Monday. "The bottom line from
our perspective is it's really important to have a global
ecosystem."
  

 (Reporting by Faith Hung, Max Cherney and Ben Blanchard;
Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Kim Coghill and Gerry Doyle)
 ((ben.blanchard@thomsonreuters.com;))