One Breath announced seven resolutions, cold treatment of the U. S. tariff war, multi-party focus on TSMC“Next step.”
In its 37-year history, TSMC held its first board meeting in the US yesterday. With the timing of the board meeting coinciding with the Donald Trump administration’s tariff war and its targeting of strategic goods, including semiconductors, there is speculation about TSMC’s next move.
There was no mention of expanding in the US
According to a report by Taiwan’s“Business Times” on the 13th, on the 12th, TSMC announced seven resolutions after the first board meeting of its new plant in Arizona, USA, this includes the adoption of last year’s financial statements, employee performance bonuses and compensation, capital budgeting, and capitalizing subsidiaries. TSMC’s consolidated revenue for the full year was NT $2,894.3 bn, with net profit after tax of NT $1,173.2 bn, or NT $45.25 per share, the statement said. “Both revenue and profit have broken historical records, showing that TSMC continues to lead in the global semiconductor market and that its technology and market layout are steadily advancing,” the paper said. A fourth-quarter 2024 dividend of T $4.50 per share was also approved.
Taiwan’s“Economic daily” said on the 13th that in the announcement of TSMC’s board resolution, there was no expected investment case directly related to the United States, but the market believes that, tSMC’s approved capital budget and its subsidiary TSMC Global are both large investments of over US $10 billion, with the total amount approaching NT $900 billion, “Declare their long-term commitment to continue to expand production and investment in the world, for the subsequent expansion of great beauty manufacturing capacity to prepare the foreshadowing.”. In terms of capital budget, TSMC announced that its board of directors approved a long-term capacity plan based on market demand forecasts and blueprints for technology development, with a capital budget of approximately US $17.14 billion, including construction and upgrading of advanced process capacity, construction and upgrading of advanced packaging, mature and/or special process capacity, plant construction and facility engineering. TSMC is also carrying out internal machine replacement and equipment transfer to the mainland, including more than nt $450 million worth of equipment to image sensing subsidiary tsai-yu, and is expected to dispose of NT $500 million of equipment to the Nanjing subsidiary, TSMC said, “The main purpose is for the overall operational planning.”.
TSMC approved a capital increase of up to US $10 billion in TSMC Global (general investment business) to reduce the cost of foreign exchange hedging. The board also approved 2024 employee performance bonuses and compensation bonuses totalling t $140.59 bn, a record high.
Or build a factory with Intel?
TSMC’s board meeting in the US, the first in its 37-year history, comes as Donald Trump prepares to unveil reciprocal tariffs. However, the decision of TSMC’s board of directors did not have a clear response to the US tariff war, and there was also a gap with the market’s original expectations, including expanding investment in the US and the possibility of technology transfer to the US IDM (integrated component manufacturing plant) . The Financial Times has previously quoted sources as saying, tSMC’s board is likely to negotiate with the Donald Trump administration by“Expanding investment in the US”, “Moving advanced packaging to the US” and“Accelerating advanced processes to the US”.
Legal person analysis said that the semiconductor industry is waiting for the announcement of the US“Chip tariff”, and TSMC has a say in the field of advanced manufacturing and advanced packaging, it will respond to trends and demand from chip customers, including Apple, Nvidia and Qualcomm.
Donald Trump’s nomination of a new U.S. Commerce Secretary at his confirmation hearing last month said TSMC was“Using” the U.S. to take away chip production, according to an analysis by taiwan-based China Time News, “We are over-dependent on Taiwan and need to move this production to the US.”. At a summit on Artificial Intelligence -AIB-AI)ParisaYesterdayrdUS,VicevPresidentdVanceance also stressed that, “In order to consolidate the leading position of the United States, will ensure that the most advanced AI system in the United States to build, using U. s.-designed and manufactured chips.”. Taiwan media that“His speech seems to have hinted at the possible trend of TSMC.”. Some legal persons believe that the status of TSMC industry Duke Xiao of Qi, n chip customers are the first to bear the brunt of the impact of the object. TSMC will not announce an increase in investment without a request or commitment from its customers. On the other hand, TSMC will actively cooperate with the United States Department of Commerce to prevent the flow of advanced process AI chips into the mainland market.
Taiwan’s central news agency quoted Semiconductor industry experts as saying that TSMC had decided to invest in three wafer fabrication plants in Arizona, the first fab is 2024 to mass-produce 4NM chips in the fourth quarter of 2010, and the second is expected to be 2028. But under pressure from possible us tariffs, “TSMC can not rule out the possibility of accelerating the mass production of 2nm processes and building a fourth FAB”.
Guerra, an analyst at financial services group Baird, revealed rumours that TSMC might send engineers to Intel’s 2nm and 3nm plants to use their expertise to ensure smooth operation of production lines, intel and TSMC may have a joint venture, with TSMC overseeing operations and the entity receiving subsidies under the Chip Act. “Although the information is unconfirmed and the project will take a long time to complete, we believe it is feasible,” Guerra said, expect Intel’s cash-flow problems to ease considerably, allowing it to focus on businesses such as chip design and platform solutions. However, some semiconductor experts said that this is the worst option for TSMC, even worse than tariffs, TSMC will face the risk of technology outflow.
“This is not a business decision. This is a political decision.”
TSMC has been forced to re-examine its position and strategy in the global market in the face of intense pressure from the Donald Trump administration, the China Times reported yesterday. On the one hand, TSMC relies on demand from the Chinese market; on the other hand, it must take into account possible further sanctions by the US government, “Under these circumstances, TSMC seems to be in a A Very Tight Place situation.”. But experts generally believe that TSMC can still maintain its leading position in the industry in the coming years as long as it can properly manage its relations with China and the United States. In this context, the article argues, TSMC faces challenges from two sources: pressure from the US government to cut ties with Chinese mainland companies; On the other hand, the global semiconductor market is becoming increasingly competitive. In summary, the Donald Trump administration’s tariffs have caused TSMC a lot of headaches, but they have also prompted the company to focus more on innovation and market diversification.
However, TSMC’s board meeting in the US for the first time since its establishment symbolised a significant shift in the semiconductor leader’s geopolitical and industrial strategy, according to the Taiwanese magazine. “This is not a commercial decision, it is a political decision,” Yang Yingchao, chairman of Corcoran Capital, told vision. “It makes absolutely no commercial sense to build a factory in Arizona because chip manufacturing is not a final product, it still needs to be sent back to Asia for packaging and assembly, and the local US supply chain can not support the full development of advanced processes,” he said