TSMC Chairman Warns Against Chinese Invasion of Taiwan

08 AUGUST 2022 - An invasion of Taiwan by China would pretty much put Apple chipmaker TSMC out of business - that is the warning from TSMC Chair Mark Liu. CNBC posted highlights (or lowlights) of an interview between Mr. Liu and CNN. According to the exec, isolating his company would pretty much choke the life out of it. Quoting Liu:

Nobody can control TSMC by force. If you take a military force or invasion, you will render TSMC factory not operable… Because this is such a sophisticated manufacturing facility, it depends on real-time connection with the outside world, with Europe, with Japan, with U.S., from materials to chemicals to spare parts to engineering software and diagnosis.

Bad for Apple? Sure. That’s because TSMC manufactures the A-Series processors that power iPhone, iPad, and other Apple hardware, as well as the M-Series processors that power the Mac, select iPads, and who knows what else currently in the pipeline.

Really though, there’s no telling how many companies would be negatively affected. Certainly most countries - maybe even every country would be. CNBC says TSMC “has over 50% of the world's semiconductor foundry market.” And, Liu makes clear, if TSMC were stopped by invasion, China would be hurt. According to the report:

Liu said an invasion of the territory would cause economic turmoil for China, Taiwan and Western countries. He said that TSMC sells chips to consumer-facing Chinese companies that need the company's services and the supply of advanced computer chips.

"How can we avoid war? How can we ensure that the engine of the world economy continues humming, and let's have a fair competition," Liu said.