Will CUBE's capacity be constrained?
From the ATI thread:
TSMC in Discussions on Using Acer's Spare Chipmaking Capacity
Hsinchu, Taiwan, May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor
manufacturing Co., the world's biggest custom-designed chipmaker,
said it's negotiating with Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc. to
use Acer's spare production lines to make TSMC products.
''Our lines are completely booked up through July,'' said J.H. Tseng, a TSMC spokesman. ''The talks are still in an initial stage. No details are available.''
As the recovery of the $5.4 billion chip industry gathers steam, TSMC
increased its capital spending this year to a record $1.13 billion,
from a previous forecast of $830 million. The firm is receiving
more orders from Canada-based ATI Technology Inc. and other clients in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Taiwan.
Shares of Acer rose 2.9 percent to NT$49.60 today, and TSMC shares
were unchanged at NT$119.50 after rising as much as 2.9 percent. Both
stocks were among the three most active by value on the Taiwan Stock
Exchange.
The talks are good news for unprofitable chipmaker ASMI, in which Acer
holds a 49 percent stake. ASMI lost NT$5 billion each in 1997 and 1998
because of plunging memory chip prices.
''Winning orders from TSMC means we have a better opportunity to
generate profits,'' said Ruth Pao, public relations manager at ASMI.
ASMI now makes 20,000 wafers a month in its Plant One for customers that include Fujitsu Ltd. of Japan. Its Plant Two, designed to produce 60,000 wafers a month, is hardly used, Pao said. |
