Taipei, June 28, 2010 (CENS)--Industry executives estimate Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will spend more capital on expansion than Intel does this year after TSMC Chairman and Chief Executive Morris Chang recently announced his company`s actual 2010 capital expenditure will likely outstrip originally planned US$4.8 billion.

As Chang has declined to disclose actual figure, suppliers of chip-making equipment estimate TSMC is likely to increase its 2010 capital expenditure by around 10% from US$4.8 billion, bringing the final figure close to, or even beyond, Intel`s US$5.3 billion.

Samsung Electronics is the No.1 capital spender this year, setting the number at US$15.6 billion.

At a TSMC technology workshop recently held in Taipei, Chang said his company will provide 10-15% more output capacity than market demand to cope with unexpected demand spikes like the recent one after the 2008 global economic downturn.

Industry watchers point out TSMC`s production lines have been inundated with robust orders since the beginning of the year, and the outstretched production will not likely ease until the end of this year. Tight

Chang vowed his company will work to maintain its technological supremacy as its 40-nanometer process has grown mature and it will soon migrate to 28nm, 20nm, 17nm and 14nm processes. He touted that TSMC has grown from a small potato in 20 years ago into a major player in the world IC industry, already filling 20% of world IC market estimated at US$250 billion in 2010, thanks to the company`s incessant technology-development efforts and intensive cooperation with design houses and integrated device manufacturers (IDMs).

Chang said semiconductor market pie has grown bigger than before and the remaining 80% of the market leaves the company an ample room for growth.

(by Ken Liu)