TSMC to Spend $1.13B on 65nm, 95nm Processes

By Colleen Taylor -- Electronic News, 11/7/2006

After a meeting this week to approve various spending options, foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.’s board of directors has approved capital appropriation of $1.13 billion to expand 65nm and 90nm process capacity in 300mm wafer fabs.

The company's board has also given the green light for capital appropriation of $9.2 million to expand 1.0 micron high voltage process capacity in Fab 2.

Additionally, TSMC plans to purchase an additional 6.8 percent of shares in Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Company Pte. Ltd. (SSMC) at a price of approximately $73 million, giving TSMC a 38.8 percent stake of SSMC after the purchase.

It's been both good and bad news for TSMC in recent weeks, with the announcement of strong Q3 revenues tempered by lackluster expectations for Q4 due to continuing inventory issues in the chip industry.