Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) corporation, denied rumors of a joint venture with the American semiconductor corporation Intel.
According to Taiwan's Liberty Times and others on the 18th, TSMC Chairman Wei Zhejia noted during a conference call the day before after the announcement of first-quarter results that TSMC is focusing on its own business.
Wei said, "TSMC is not discussing joint ventures, technology licenses, technology transfers, or sharing with any other company."
Earlier, on the 3rd, the IT media outlet The Information reported, citing sources, that TSMC and Intel had provisionally agreed to establish a joint company to operate Intel's foundry institutional sector, with TSMC discussing holding 20% equity in the joint venture and sharing some manufacturing technology with Intel.
Bloomberg also reported that TSMC was considering joint venture plans, including the acquisition of a controlling equity stake in the Intel factory, at the request of the Donald Trump administration in February.
However, Taiwanese media cited experts as saying that over 70% of TSMC's shareholders, who are foreign investors, would oppose cooperation with Intel, noting that it would not be easy for TSMC to invest in Intel, which is struggling with deteriorating performance.
Bloomberg also reported on Wei's statement denying a joint venture with Intel, noting, "It is unclear whether discussions of cooperation were fueled after he announced a $100 billion (142 trillion won) investment plan with U.S. President Trump in March."
The scale of TSMC's investment in the U.S. has increased to $165 billion (234.4 trillion won), including the $100 billion disclosed in March.