Wendell Huang, CFO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, recently announced at a press conference that if conditions permit, TSMC will build a new wafer plant in Arizona, the U.S.

The Taiwanese semiconductor company recently released its financial report for the third quarter of 2020, stating that by September 30, its total operating revenue was TWD356.43 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21.6% and an increase of 14.7% compared with the previous quarter. Its net profit was TWD137.31 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35.9% and an increase of 13.6% compared with the previous quarter.

During the third quarter of 2020, TSMC's 5-nanometer wafer shipments accounted for 8% of its total wafer revenue, and 7-nanometer and 16-nanometer shipments accounted for 35% and 18%, respectively.

Huang said that driven by 5G smartphones, high performance computing and IoT-related applications, the market demand for their advanced manufacturing technology and professional technical solutions is very strong. Entering the fourth quarter of 2020, market demand for their industry-leading 5nm manufacturing technology will be very strong, which will drive the company's revenue growth quarter-on-quarter.

TSMC predicted that its revenue in the fourth quarter will reach USD12.4 billion to USD12.7 billion.

Huang also said that if conditions permit, TSMC will build a new wafer plant in Arizona, the U.S.

TSMC previously announced in May this year that it plans to build a wafer plant with a cost of approximately USD12 billion in Arizona. The company said at the time that the plant would use a 5-nanometer process technology to produce semiconductor chips, with a planned production capacity of 20,000 chips per month. It could create up to 1,600 jobs and create thousands of jobs in the semiconductor industry ecosystem.

The new plant is expected to start construction in 2021 and put into production in 2024.