Wedbush Interprets Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US) CoWoS Price Increase Rumors: Supply Chain "Bottleneck" Links Return, Intel Corporation (INTC.US) Competitive Pressure May Ease

There are reports that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US) plans to raise prices for its CoWoS packaging services. Wedbush believes this news signals that the technology has once again become a "bottleneck link" in the supply chain. Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson wrote in a note to clients: "Although we have not yet been able to independently verify the reported price increase, if true, we believe this news indicates that CoWoS is likely to become a supply chain bottleneck once again (after a period in which pressure on packaging capacity appeared lower than in other component supply areas)." The report said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, may raise the price of chip-on-wafer-on-substrate by 10% to 20%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR manufactures chips for companies such as Apple Inc. (AAPL.US), NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), and AMD (AMD.US). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bryson further analyzed that if Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR does raise CoWoS prices, it could also mean the company "feels less pressure from Intel Corporation's (INTC.US) EMIB-T technology." Bryson added: "Overall, given Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's evident pricing power, strong end-customer demand, and other factors, we view this news as another positive signal for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR. For Intel Corporation, the impact may be more complex, depending on the specific reasons behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's decision to raise CoWoS prices."