TSMC CEO Morris Chang reckons the semiconductor industry will grow 2% this year.
In a flat year for the overall industry last year, the foundry industry grew 4% said Chang.
In 2012, he added, foundry business will grow more than the overall industry and TSMC will grow more than the foundry industry.
TSMC’s capex will be $6bn this year down from $7.286bn last year.
TSMC expects an unseasonally strong Q1 which will be flat with Q4. Traditionally, Q1 is a weaker quarter than Q4.
However Linear Technology predicted a better Q1 than Q4, ASML has said that Q1 looks very much better than Q4, Xilinx says Q1 could be between 2-6% up on Q4, while Future Horizons CEO Malcolm Penn predicted this morning: "I believe the chip industry will bounce back really hard this year."