Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, ‘äÏ“d), the worldfs largest contract chipmaker, on Saturday announced that it will distribute more than NT$400 million (US$12.75 million) in bonuses to its employees at the end of next month.

Speaking at the companyfs annual sports day in Hsinchu, TSMC chairman Morris Chang (’£’‰–d) said that the company will distribute the bonuses as a reward for employeesf contributions to the firm.

More than 36,000 employees who started working for TSMC before May 31 will receive NT$12,000 bonuses, Chang said.

Eligible employees include production line workers, engineers and technicians, as well as administrative personnel.

TSMC posted a record profit of NT$96.76 billion in the third quarter, up 33.4 percent from the previous quarter and 28.4 percent from a year earlier.

The company said it is counting on a pool of talented personnel and high-end technologies to stay competitive in the global market.

Chang said TSMC will continue to focus on its contract chipmaking business and defend its No. 1 position amid intensifying competition from rival companies such as Intel Corp, Samsung Electronics Co and some Chinese firms.

Chang said he has faith in TSMCfs efforts to develop the 10-nanometer process technology, which Samsung has also been developing.

He said that TSMC is expected to surpass Samsung in the 10-nanometer process development by moving more quickly than the South Korean firm.

TSMC last year launched the commercial production of chips using the 16-nanometer process technology and is to begin mass production of chips based on the 10-nanometer process technology in the first quarter of next year. The company is planning to start commercial production of chips by adopting the more advanced 7-nanometer process technology in the first quarter of 2018.

Analysts said TSMC might dominate the global 7-nanometer market in 2018, increasing the odds that it will secure all of the orders placed by Apple Inc for new iPhone models to be unveiled that year.

Chang said TSMC has been riding a wave of solid demand in the global smartphone market, adding that the companyfs shipments could peak in the second and third quarters of next year after a slow season in the first quarter.

As for Chinafs move to develop its own contract chipmaking industry by expanding production capacity, Chang said TSMC expects the competition to intensify, but due to its strong lead in advanced technology development, it will continue to dominate the global market.

Meanwhile, Chang said the global economy is expected to improve next year, even though it is haunted by uncertainty from the UKfs exit from the EU, a possible rate hike by the US Federal Reserve and a slowdown in Chinafs economy.

The IMF earlier this month forecast that the global economy will grow 3.4 percent next year after an estimated increase of 3.1 percent this year.

By: DocMemory
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