Taiwan Semiconductor shares headed for record as bitcoin bolsters chip demand
Beijing — Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor, Apple’s main chip supplier, gained as much as 2% after the company reported quarterly results ahead of expectations, buoyed by global demand for the powerful semiconductors used in cryptocurrency mining. The stock was up 1.6% at NT$252.50 in early Taipei trade, on track to surpass its record high. Investors focused on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC’s) ability to ride a boom in cryptocurrency mining driven by bitcoin’s 1,400% leap last year — the same explosive growth that has bolstered shares of designers from Nvidia to Advanced Micro Devices. Founder Morris Chang — who is handing the company’s reins to two lieutenants this year — told investors on Thursday that high-performance computing, the internet of things and cars will help drive revenue growth of 10%-15% in 2018. That compares with 3.1% growth in 2017. TSMC posted a net profit of T$99.29bn ($3.36bn) for the quarter ended December, just 0.9% less than a year ago. But th...
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