Tsmc (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.), the world's largest contract chipmaker, has suspended new orders from Huawei technology companies, according to foreign media reports.
"TSMC has stopped accepting new orders from Huawei and this decision will fully comply with the latest export control requirements ," said one insider. But the chips and tsmc orders received before the new ban weren't affected, and production could continue if they could be shipped by mid-september. "
"This is a very difficult decision for TSMC because Huawei is the second largest customer for TSMC, but the chipmaker has to follow U.S. rules ," said another insider. "
Huawei is the world's largest manufacturer of telecommunications devices and the second largest manufacturer of smartphones, and its advanced chip design and are closely related to tsmc and include all mobile processors used Huawei flagship smartphones. Besides, TSMC also produces artificial intelligence processors and network chips for Huawei.
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Responding to journalist request for comment, TSMC said it was "unable to disclose customer order details" and added that "TSMC has been complying with law and applicable regulations. TSMC indicated that the impact of new export control measures was being assessed.
TSMC shares fell more than 2% in early trading on Monday, while the benchmark index fell less than 1%.
Huawei is tsmc's second-largest customer after apple, accounting for 15-20% of its annual income. Huawei also account for as much as 20% of SMIC's revenue, according to Bernstein Research (Bernstein Research).
