TSMC's European revenues will be 30 per cent up this year, compared to 2007, according to Maria Marced, president of TSMC Europe.
Europe, which contributes about 12 per cent of TSMC's total business, is increasing the business it is putting with TSMC because European IDMs are outsourcing a higher percentage of their wafers, according to Marced.
STMicroelectronics has said that it will be moving, in two years, from outsourcing seven per cent of its wafers to outsourcing 20 per cent. Infineon has indicated it will follow suit.
Marced reckons that TSMC has increased its market share in Europe with an increase in share from 40 per cent of the European foundry wafer market in Q207 to 48 per cent in Q2 08.
Marced said that 100 tape-outs at TSMC would be coming from Europe this year, and that the company it would be increasing the number of its field technical support staff in Europe by 20 per cent.
TSMC has been pursuing a policy of going for segmented market areas, like automotive, with tailor-made technology offers. Asked if TSMC had received any Europe-sourced designs in the automotive segment, Marced replied: 'Yes', Asked how many, she replied 'Multiple'.
Asked about the fears raised by many in the industry that TSMC is looking to increase its prices, Marced replied that TSMC has "firmed up on prices." This, Marced explained, means that the rate of price decline over the lifetime of a process node will be slower than it has been in the past.
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