TSMC denies reported delay in Arizona plan

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, denied a report Friday that there has been a delay in its Arizona investment project, saying the plan is on schedule.

According to TSMC, construction of its planned 12-inch wafer foundry in Arizona started in June, and equipment will start to be installed in the second half of 2022.

In the fab's initial phase, it will churn out 20,000 wafers a month starting in the first quarter of 2024, the company said.

TSMC announced the Arizona plan in May 2020, saying it would invest US$12 billion to build the fab using its advanced 5 nanometer process, at a time when then U.S. President Donald Trump was urging manufacturers in the global tech supply chain to move from China to the U.S.

TSMC was responding to a Liberty Times report on Friday that TSMC faced a delay in the fab's construction in Arizona after rival Intel Corp. lured construction workers with high pay to build a factory in the same state amid a labor shortage caused by COVID-19.

Due to Intel's aggressive recruiting of construction workers, the report said, TSMC's contractors had to seek workers from other states, leading to a two-month delay in the Taiwanese chipmaker's investment plan.

Meanwhile, TSMC on Thursday announced that its subsidiary TSMC Arizona Corp. will issue US$4.5 billion in unsecure senior bonds and will use the proceeds as its working capital.

The transaction is scheduled to be completed on Oct. 25, according to TSMC.

The chipmaker said it has priced the corporate bonds to be sold by the Arizona unit and the bonds will be comprised of four tranches with four different maturities.

According to TSMC, a US$1.25 billion tranche of 1.75 percent bonds, to mature on Oct. 25, 2026, will be issued for 99.976 percent of their face value, and another US$1.25 billion tranche of 2.50 percent bonds, to mature on Oct. 25, 2031, will be sold for 99.561 percent of their face value.

A US$1 billion tranche of 3.125 percent bonds will be sold for 98.898 percent of their face value and mature on Oct. 25, 2041, and another US$1 billion tranche of 3.25 percent bonds will be issued for 98.658 percent of its face value and will mature on Oct. 25, 2051, TSMC said.

Earlier this year, a TSMC board meeting approved a plan for the Arizona subsidiary to issue unsecure corporate bonds valued at up to US$8 billion, and agreed with the parent company to provide up to US$32.42 million in guarantees for the unit's operating requirements.