Booming U.S. Seen With Taiwan Buoying Applied Materials to Lam
This article is for subscribers only.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is locked in an investment duel with Samsung Electronics Co. to meet booming U.S. demand for Apple Inc.’s iPhone and other smartphones, benefiting electronics suppliers around the globe.
Taiwan Semiconductor, the world’s biggest custom-chipmaker, plans record spending on plants and equipment this year. It’s lavishing $12 billion on factories -- more than Intel Corp. has ever spent in a year -- to counter investments that Samsung is making to win chip orders from Apple, Qualcomm Inc. and its own handset division.