Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s capital expenditure for 2023 will wind up closer to $32 billion, approaching the lower end of a forecast range as it grapples with a persistent chip demand slump.
The world’s most advanced chipmaker, the main partner to Apple Inc. and AI chip designer Nvidia Corp., on Tuesday reaffirmed projections for revenue in the first half of 2023 to decline by about 10% in US dollar terms. But Chairman Mark Liu told reporters capex, a key leading indicator for the industry, will be near the lower end of a previously forecast $32 billion to $36 billion range.
TSMC has said previously semiconductor demand is likely to improve in the latter part of this year after PC, server and smartphone makers digest inventories. Many economists are hopeful that the post-Covid Chinese economy — the world’s biggest semiconductor market — will recover more evenly.
