TSMC approves US$29.44 billion capital budget for expansion

Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has approved a capital budget of about US$29.44 billion for expansion amid the ongoing AI boom.

In a statement, the world's largest contract chipmaker said a two-day board meeting that concluded Tuesday approved capital appropriations to meet long-term capacity plans based on market demand forecasts and the company's technology development roadmap.

According to TSMC, the capital appropriation plan aims to meet a range of requirements such as installing advanced technology capacity and constructing fabs.

At an investor conference held in mid-July, TSMC raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to between US$60.0 billion and US$64.0 billion, an increase from its previous forecast of between US$52.0 billion and US$56.0 billion announced in mid-April, citing strong global demand for 5G, AI applications and high-performance computing devices.

Meanwhile, TSMC said the company also secured approval from the board to issue a cash dividend of NT$7.0 (US$0.22) per share for the second quarter, when earnings per share were NT$27.25. The NT$7.0 cash dividend for the second-quarter earnings is unchanged from the dividend payout for the first quarter earnings.

TSMC has scheduled an ex-dividend date for Dec. 10 and the payout is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2027.

For Taiwanese companies that pay cash dividends annually, the ex-dividend date is when a stock begins trading after the dividend from the previous year's earnings has been deducted.

TSMC started to issue cash dividends quarterly instead of annually in 2019.

TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), who holds 7.45 million TSMC shares, is expected to pocket NT$52.16 million in cash in January.

The National Development Fund under the Executive Yuan, TSMC's largest shareholder with 1.65 billion shares, is expected to receive NT$11.58 billion in cash.