TSMC CEO Wei dismisses reports on Middle East fab

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will not set up a manufacturing base in the Middle East, TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said Tuesday at the company's annual shareholders' meeting.

Attending an annual TSMC shareholders' meeting for the first time as chairman, Wei rejected foreign media reports that TSMC might set up a chip foundry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

When questioned on whether TSMC would make the move, Wei's answer was brief: "Two words: we won't."

Bloomberg has reported that TSMC has been talking with White House officials about the possibility of opening up a chip fab in the United Arab Emirates, meeting several times with U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and the UAE's state-owned investment firm MGX.

Wei brushed off this and other reports as being among the many rumors flying around about TSMC, citing reports earlier this year that TSMC might buy a stake in Intel.

At Tuesday's meeting in Hsinchu, TSMC also maintained its estimate for 2025 sales growth in U.S. dollar terms despite ongoing threats of high tariffs on Taiwanese goods imported into the United States.

Wei said TSMC expected 24-26 percent revenue growth in 2025, similar to a projection made on April 17 when the company foresaw revenue growth of "close to the mid-20s percent" in U.S. dollar terms.

Wei told assembled TSMC shareholders that despite the risks and uncertainties created by the tariff threats, the company's clients have not made any changes to their orders, leading TSMC to keep its guidance for the year unchanged.

TSMC's sales growth, he said, should continue to outpace that of the "Foundry 2.0" industry as a whole, which encompasses semiconductors, packaging, testing, and mask making.

In terms of the Donald Trump administration's ongoing tariff threats, Wei said any impact would be indirect because it is importers who would pay them.

His main concern, however, was that import duties would send prices higher, causing demand and overall economic activity to fall.

"TSMC's business is really good. We're not afraid of anything except for a downturn in the global economy," Wei said, noting that demand currently exceeded supply for AI-related chips, and that TSMC was still boosting capacity to satisfy that demand.

In the chaotic Trump tariff world, threats have been made to impose duties on Taiwan's semiconductors of up to 100 percent and on Taiwan-made goods in general of 32 percent, but neither of those conditions have been implemented thus far.

In a letter dated May 5, TSMC Arizona warned the U.S. Department of Commerce against imposing tariffs on semiconductor-related fields.

"New import restrictions could jeopardize current U.S. leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the U.S., including TSMC Arizona's significant investment plan in Phoenix," it said.

Meanwhile, Wei reaffirmed TSMC's commitment to green energy, saying that when green energy becomes available, TSMC will definitely buy it.

He said TSMC had considered investing in its own green electricity generating facility in Taiwan, where green energy supply falls well short of demand, but decided against the idea after considering the legal ramifications.

Instead, Wei said, TSMC has opted to invest in renewable energy and work with suppliers to help them make use of it, even if its costs are relatively high.