Company Profile: TSMC Solar

TSMC Solar’s parent company is TSMC, the world’s first and largest semiconductor foundry.

Through its pioneering business model – ultramodern production of integrated circuits (ICs) as a service for our customers – TSMC has fundamentally changed the chip industry. TSMC, headquartered in Taiwan, produces over 8,000 products for the more than 450 customers it serves per year. This represents almost 8% of the global production volume for IC wafers.

TSMC began expanding in new areas of business in 2009 – with a focus on photovoltaics and LED lighting. In 2010, TSMC Solar founded regional headquarters in North America through TSMC Solar North America in San Jose, CA, USA and in Europe through TSMC Solar Europe GmbH in Hamburg, Germany.

An overview of how TSMC Solar was created:

May 2009 – New Business segment founded, launching our solar business
February 2010 – Acquired a 20% share of the capital of Motech Industries, the largest manufacturer of crystalline silicon solar cells in Taiwan
June 2010 – Acquired 21% share of Stion Corporation, a manufacturer of CIGS solar modules in the USA, including technology, licensing, supply and development agreements
September 2010 – TSMC Solar breaks ground on Solar Fab and R&D Center in Taichung, Taiwan
December 2010 – TSMC Solar North America and TSMC Solar Europe GmbH are founded as the headquarters to serve the North American and European solar-energy markets
January 2011 – TSMC enters into a manufacturing partnership with Centrosolar Group AG, one of the leading manufacturers of crystalline silicon solar modules in Germany
April 2011 – Completion of our CIGS thin-film module factory in Taichung, Taiwan
September 2011 – Completion of tool move-in at CIGS thin-film module factory

A brief history of TSMC’s success reinforces its commitment to the solar business:

• 1987 – TSMC is founded by Philips Electronics and the Taiwanese government
• 1994 – TSMC is listed on the stock market (NYSE: TSM, TSE:2330)
• 2010 – $13.9 Billion revenue, market cap value of $56 Billion on the NYSE stock exchange (May 2011)
• 2010 – Solar regional offices founded in San Jose, CA, USA and Hamburg, Germany
• 2011 – $5.6 Billion capital reinvested into manufacturing capacity
• 2011 – 33,000 employees, chip production in Taiwan, USA, Singapore (JV), China

For more detailed information about TSMC, see www.tsmc.com.