Taiwan Semicondcutor Manufacturing Company (TSM.US) will make a $40 billion investment in Arizona. The company's first customers are likely to be Apple (AAPL.US) and Nvidia (NVDA.US). The investment is one of the largest foreign investments in US history and the largest in the state of Arizona:
- According to Nikkei Asia, the Arizona plant will begin producing some of the most advanced chips in late 2023 and early 2024. TSMC z intends to double its existing production capacity and focus on the most advanced chips there. Initially, TSMC was targeting 5 and 4 nm chips for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro. Under the new plan, the Arizona plant will also produce them in 3-nm technology. Investment in the 3-nm expansion will be more significant than the $12 billion to date;
- TSMC founder Morris Chang confirmed that TSMC will bring production of the latest chips in 3-nm technology to the US, but also said that production in the US will be 50% more expensive than in Taiwan. Still, Needham-based chip market analysts indicate that the company should prioritize factories in Japan and the US
- Other leading U.S. chipmakers, including Advanced Micro Devices. and the company's acquisition of Xilinx, are also in talks to buy production capacity. Samsung Electronics and Intel Corp have also massively expanded their chip manufacturing footprints in the US;
- Recently, Warren Buffett's fund was revealed in TSMC's shareholding. The announcement from the company comes in the wake of the passage of the Democrat-backed CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law in early August and has sparked disputes with Republicans accusing politicians of supporting chipmakers too much. CHIPS act gives nearly $52.7 billion in loans and grants, as well as billions more in tax breaks, to encourage investment in US semiconductor manufacturing. Once TSMC's plants open, they will produce enough chips to meet annual U.S. demand, according to Ronnie Chatterji, who oversees implementation of the CHIPS Act. In November, Warren Buffett's fund, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA.US), whose investment in the Taiwanese chipmaker totaled $4.1 billion, was unveiled in the company's shares.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM.US) stock chart, D1 interval. Sentiment around the chip industry has begun to gradually improve, as we can also see from AMD shares (yellow chart). TSMC shares are trading between the 100 (black line) and the 200-session moving averages (red line). Bulls are likely to want to test the main resistance near $86 per share although their main task will be to stop dips below $77, which could herald impending, greater weakness. Source: xStation5
