TSMC warns chip market will stagnate in 2020 after coronavirus

Supplier to Apple and Huawei confirms it is weighing construction of a new US plant

20200416 TSMC

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has forecast a 32% on-year rise in revenue for the April to June quarter, but foresees a sharp downturn in the second half of 2020. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)

CHENG TING-FANG and LAULY LI, Nikkei staff writers

TAIPEI -- The global semiconductor and smartphone markets are both at risk of contracting this year due to the coronavirus, one of the industry's leading manufacturers said Thursday.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest contract chipmaker and a key supplier to electronics giants including Apple and Huawei Technologies, said it had significantly lowered its 2020 forecast for the semiconductor market, excluding memory, to zero growth or even a slight decline, compared with the 8% expansion it predicted in January.

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