Taiwan’s TSMC forecasts sharp rise in Q1 revenue, bets on robust 5G demand

TAIPEI: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) forecast an up to 45% spike in January-March revenue and raised its capex plan for the year, betting robust demand for 5G smartphones would dial up profits at the world’s top contract chipmaker.

The promising outlook from TSMC – a proxy for global tech demand given it has clients like Apple, Qualcomm and Huawei – comes as a strong uptake of 5G smartphones is fuelling an overall recovery in the global smartphone market that has shrunk for the past three years.