Interview With Morris Chang

choi

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John Boudreau, Mercury News interview: Morris Chang, Founder, Chairman, CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. San Jose Mercury News, Aug 27, 2011
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18765444

Quote:

"Later that year [1987] or in 1988, (Intel's) Andy Grove visited Taiwan and decided to drop in and look at TSMC. I showed him we were getting good yields on 3-micron technology, which was 21/2 generations behind Intel and Texas Instruments, but we were getting yields and he was impressed.

"But I also think that maybe Silicon Valley or the United States has given up too much manufacturing. The situation is that Asia -- Taiwan, China and now other countries -- has basically taken over the manufacturing end. * * * I am an American. I am worried. I think a lot of stuff should not be given up. The United States can learn from Intel. They have kept as much as possible in the United States. You can look at automation tools that minimize labor hours. Intel looked for those ways and they are very successful.

"Our costs are more determined by the quality of engineering than by the wage level of the manufacturing location. We have a manufacturing operation in China, which has a lower wage level, but the quality of engineering is not as good as Taiwan's. Therefore total costs are higher (in China).

"[In China] The (employee) turnover rate is far too high. * * * The employees are not loyal. Intellectual property protection is difficult. Innovation has never been a strong suit in the Chinese universities. * * * It's not a very good environment. So I don't think of them [Chinese] as an unstoppable juggernaut.

Note: The report says, "Today, fabless semiconductor companies have grown into a $73 billion-plus industry."

Age Yeh, Greater China IC design industry overview. DigiTimes, Apr 22, 2011
http://www.digitimes.com/Reports/Report.asp?datepublish=2011/4/22&pages=RS&seq=400&read=toc
(For the 2011 IC design, "output value for the Taiwan industry grew 40% to US$14 billion, while output value for the China industry grew 140% to US$5.7 billion")


------------------------------Separately
(1) Yukari Iwatani Kane and Jessica E Vascellaro, Tough to Follow: Apple After Jobs. Wall Street Journal, Aug 26, 2011.

My comment: There is no need to read it. The graphic shows his achievements, including
"Computers
The MAC remains a niche business behind PCs that runs Microsoft's Windows, but the explosion in sales of the iPad has changed all that. If Apple's sales of tablets are included, Apple is the second largest PC maker in the world behind Hewlett-Packward."

(2) Loretta Chao, Groupon Stumbles in China: Expansion began eight months ago; now closing 10 offices. Wall Street Journal, Aug 24, 2011.

(3) Owen Fletcher, China PC Market Tops US; No 1 shipment rank reflects shift to emerging economies. Wall Street Journal, Aug 24, 2011.

Note: It is measured by units shipped, rather than by revenue.

(4) Rolfe Winkler, Some Patents Are More Equal Than Others. Wall Street Journal, Aug 22, 2011

Quote:

"Indeed, firms themselves may not always be totally clear what they're getting. On July 6, the Taiwanese smartphone-maker paid $300 million for S3 Graphics and its 235 patents. A few days prior, the U.S. International Trade Commission had said that Apple infringed on two of S3′s patents. So S3′s intellectual property seemed good, if expensive, weaponry for HTC’s own patent fight with Apple.

"Trouble is the ITC didn’t describe precisely what Apple devices infringed the patents until after the deal. In fact those related to Apple’s Mac computers, not its more lucrative mobile devices like the iPhone. So S3′s patents may offer less negotiating leverage.



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