TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan outpaced South Korea in terms of semiconductor exports by a wide margin in 2022, mainly due to a greater global demand for chips produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).
In 2022, Taiwan exported US$184.1 billion (NT$5.58 trillion) worth of semiconductors, an increase of 18.4% from the previous year, reported Business Korea. This marked the seventh-straight year that Taiwan's chip exports have increased and the third year in a row that exports have grown by more than 10%.
However, semiconductor exports from South Korea only rose by a meager 1%, finishing far behind Taiwan at US$129.2 billion in chip exports for 2022. The news agency cited experts as pointing out that this discrepancy is due to a difference in the types of semiconductors the two country's top chip-makers are focused on.
TSMC's advantage is that it dominates the foundry sector, which is "based on orders, freer in terms of inventory management, and more stable in terms of pricing." According to Seeking Alpha, TSMC has an overall capacity that is 2.7 times greater than Samsung and possesses a 6.6 times revenue advantage over its South Korean rival.
Samsung mainly focuses on the volatile memory chip industry and is therefore more exposed to economic fluctuations. Because the worldwide memory chip market started to shrivel midway through 2022, semiconductor exports from South Korea dropped for five consecutive months until December.
In 2022, TSMC's sales climbed by 43% and operating profits soared by 73%. Meanwhile, Samsung only saw sales increase by 8% and operating profit rise by 16%, with the memory chip market expected to be "sluggish" in 2023.
Business Korea credited Taiwan's Legislative Yuan for providing additional support to the domestic semiconductor industry. It noted that Taiwan's legislature passed its version of the Chips Act on Jan. 7 which allowed semiconductor makers to convert 25% of their annual research and development expenses into tax credits, while a similar bill has yet to be passed by South Korea's National Assembly due to political discord.
