Taiwanese chipmaker says didn’t reveal customer info to US

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The world’s largest chipmaker from Taiwan on Monday said it did not reveal any customer-related information in its submission to the US.

“The company has submitted its answers to a questionnaire issued by the US Department of Commerce (DoC), which requested it be filled in and returned by Nov. 8, to address the global chip supply shortage,” said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), in a statement to Focus Taiwan news outlet.

Washington had in September issued what is called as Request for Information (RFI) to the TSMA, Samsung, Intel Corp., among others.

Under the RFI, the semiconductor companies were asked to "voluntarily share information about inventories, demand, and delivery dynamics.”

However, the TSMC asserted “the company did not disclose any confidential information about customers in its response to the US request.”

Meanwhile, the DOC said: “Its goal is to understand and quantify where bottlenecks may exist."

The demand by the US had raised concerns regarding customer base and their information which companies submit with the TSMC.

Chip supply lines faced pressure amid COVID-19 pandemic last year when the demand was high because most of the work shifted to online infrastructure raising demands in mobile phones, laptops and computers which use electronic chips. The automobile sector also heavily relies on the chip manufacturing sector.

Silvia Fang, the TSMC vice president in legal and general counsel, last month stressed that the Taiwanese company “would not disclose any sensitive information about its clients.”