Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, more than 50% of global microchip manufacturing, announced its results for the last quarter of 2021. Earnings increased 16.4% from the previous year to reach $ 6 billion due to the increase exponential demand for chips. Sales in the last three months of 2021 increased by 21.2% to Taiwanese dollars 438.2 billion ($ 15.8 billion), Tsmc announced. Earnings reached $ 166.2 billion. Music is not expected to change in 2022 as demand will continue to be strong, according to the company itself. Tsmc, headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, manufactures processor chips for major brands. Apple accounts for nearly half of the demand, followed by MediaTek, AMD, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Nvidia, Sony, Marvell, STM, and ADI. All chip makers have benefited from the demand for next-generation telecommunication devices and the demand from various sectors from automobiles to medical devices. Tsmc shares gained 7% this year, hitting a market value of $ 618 billion.
Tsmc announced last year its intention to invest $ 100 billion over the next three years in manufacturing, research and development. Most of the semiconductors used in smartphones, medical equipment, computers and other products are manufactured in Taiwan, South Korea and China. TSMC announced in October plans to build its first chip factory in Japan. The company and Sony Corp. later reported that they would jointly invest $ 7 billion in the facility. Outside of Taiwan, Tsmc also operates a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility in Camas, Washington, and design centers in San Jose, California, and Austin, Texas. The company announced plans for a second U.S. manufacturing site in Arizona as concern grows over American reliance on Asian sources for high-tech components.