TSMC largest R&D spender among listed manufacturers in Taiwan

Taipei, May 6 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, spent more on research and development than any other listed manufacturers on the local stock market in Taiwan in 2023, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Monday.

Data compiled by the MOEA showed TSMC spent NT$178.7 billion (US$5.52 billion), up 11.1 percent from a year earlier, the largest among manufacturers listed either on the main board or the over-the-counter market.

To strengthen its global competitiveness, TSMC constantly injects large funds into high end chip R&D. The chipmaker is the first in the world to mass produce chips made on the advanced 3 nanometer process since the end of 2022, while aiming to start mass production of chips on the 2nm process in 2025.

Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. came in second after spending NT$80.6 billion in R&D in 2023, down 2.2 percent from a year earlier, ahead of communication network IC designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp., which spent NT$20.1 billion in R&D, down 18.9 percent from a year earlier, the data indicated.

In 2023, R&D spending by stock market listed manufacturers in Taiwan as a whole hit a new high of NT$692.7 billion, up 2.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data.

The data showed the electronic components industry, which includes chipmakers, ranked as the largest R&D spender in 2023, pouring in NT$450.7 billion, up 2.2 percent and accounting for 65.1 percent of total R&D in the manufacturing sector.

The computer and optoelectronics industry spent NT$158.0 billion in R&D in 2023, up 4.0 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 22.8 percent of the total, the data indicated.

Manufacturers listed on the local stock market invested about NT$1.20 trillion in 2023, down 20.9 percent from a year earlier, a decline that partly resulted from a relatively high comparison base over a year earlier, The MOEA said.

The decline also came after many manufacturers scaled back their fixed asset investments due to caution over the economic outlook, postponing the installation of production equipment amid global demand weakness, it added.

According to the ministry, fixed asset investment by the manufacturing sector includes machinery, equipment for production and transportation and factories.

TSMC also ranked as the largest fixed asset investor in Taiwan in 2023, spending NT$635.0 billion, down 29.3 percent from a year earlier, ahead of its two smaller rivals: United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) (NT$79.3 billion, up 9.7 percent) and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (NT$47.9 billion, up 147.7 percent).

The MOEA said listed manufacturers in Taiwan raked in NT$1.49 trillion in operating income in 2023, down 26.4 percent from a year earlier, with the electronic components industry posting NT$1.0699 trillion in operating income, down 28.9 percent from a year earlier.

TSMC recorded the highest operating income of NT$907.4 billion among the stock listed manufacturers in Taiwan in 2023, down 16.8 percent from a year earlier, ahead of UMC (NT$48.7 billion, down 41.2 percent) and MediaTek (NT$42.3 billion, down 22.0 percent), the MOEA said.

In 2023, manufacturers listed on the local stock market generated NT$18.88 trillion in sales, down 10.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the MOEA.

iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., also known as Foxconn on the global market, posted the largest sales of NT$3.45 trillion, down 9.3 percent from a year earlier, followed by TSMC (NT$2.15 trillion, down 4.4 percent), and Pegatron Corp., a smaller iPhone assembler, (NT$1.18 trillion, down 4.1 percent from a year earlier), the MOEA said.