《TAIPEI TIMES》 TSMC founder touts company’s global role

/ Staff writer, with CNA

Trade globalization has died amid escalating geopolitical tensions, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co （TSMC） founder Morris Chang （張忠謀） said at the company’s annual sports day yesterday.

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TSMC might face more challenges ahead, as its value in the global supply chain soars, Chang said.

Chang, who retired from the company in 2018, said he has faith that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, would continue to create miracles in the global semiconductor industry on the back of the current leadership.

The TSMC sports day is the happiest day of the year for him, as he gets to see the firm’s employees show their spirit, unity and sportsmanship, he said.

TSMC has continued to grow based on three major pillars: technological leadership, manufacturing excellence and the trust of its clients, Chang said.

Founding Father

The 93-year-old is known as the “father of semiconductors” in Taiwan’s IC industry after founding and building TSMC into the world’s largest pure-play wafer foundry operator.

TSMC chairman C.C. Wei （魏哲家）, who took over from Mark Liu （劉德音） in June, said that TSMC has taken on many challenges in its 37-year history and is nearing another milestone with the sophisticated 2-nanometer process proceeding smoothly.

The 2-nanometer process is slated to enter mass production next year, while the chipmaker is also developing the A16 process, an upgraded version of the 2-nanometer process, with commercial production scheduled for the second half of 2026, Wei said.

TSMC’s overseas expansion plans are also proceeding well, which shows that the chipmaker has taken a critical role in the global semiconductor industry, he said.

Sports bonus

The company said that each of its Taiwan-based employees in nonmanagerial roles received NT$20,000 （US$623.61） in sports day bonuses.

About 60,000 employees in Taiwan who joined the company before May 31 were eligible to receive the bonus, translating to a total financial commitment of about NT$1.2 billion, it said.

Wei told his employees that the company would give them a “small” gift, referring to the bonus.

TSMC reported net profit of NT$798.59 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 33.1 percent from the same period last year.

The chipmaker forecast that full-year sales this year would grow almost 30 percent from a year earlier in US dollar terms.

The sports day was canceled for three years before last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but TSMC still gave its employees bonuses of NT$12,000 in 2020 and NT$16,000 in 2021 and 2022.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES