We are building the world's Virtual Fab! We provide the best quality technology, the greatest capacity and the highest standard of service. We are the most reliable choice as a partner in semiconductor manufacturing.

Founded in 1987, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is a high-tech company based in Taiwan's "Silicon Valley," the Hsin-chu Science-Based Industrial Park. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol of TSM. TSMC was the first pure integrated circuit ("IC") foundry company in the world. Since TSMC's founding, we have been dedicated to providing manufacturing services for advanced ICs. The company's charter prevents us from designing or making our own brand-name IC products. Hence, TSMC is a partner, not a competitor, for other semiconductor companies. TSMC's success in the foundry business has served as a model for many new entrants to the market. With TSMC as the engine of change, what was once only a concept-a pure foundry- is today a multi-billion dollar industry. As the semiconductor industry faces greater consolidation and spiralling costs for building new IC fabs, professional foundry companies like TSMC stand to become a primary source of IC manufacturing services to meet rising worldwide demand. TSMC is the largest foundry in the world. As of the end of 1997, the company was operating two 6-inch wafer fabs (Fab I and II) and three 8-inch fabs (Fab III, IV and V), with annualized output of 1.19 million top-quality, high-yield 8-inch equivalent wafers. In response to increasing demand from integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) - the so-called "second wave" IC foundry phenomenon - TSMC has plans to invest NT$400 billion over the next ten years to build six advanced fabs in the Tainan Science-Based Industrial Park (TSIP). In July, 1997, the company broke ground for Fab VI, its first fab in TSIP. TSMC is an international company aiming at the world market, and consequently establishes facilities in other locations besides Taiwan. The company has sales and engineering offices in the U.S.A., Europe and Japan. WaferTech, TSMC's joint venture in the U.S.A. with several long-standing customers, is on schedule for ramp-up in mid-1998. In addition to maintaining a competitive edge through continually increasing capacity, TSMC has beaten the competition by consistently providing volume production levels of new generation technologies. Moreover, TSMC is capable of offering a wide range of technology processes, including mixed-signal and embedded memory, in addition to the standard logic processes. TSMC's firm commitment to advanced technology ensures that the company will provide the best possible value-added services and truly be a partner to our customers. TSMC focuses on process technology and manufacturing excellence, but places even more emphasis on customer service. The company's vision is to become the Virtual Fab for our customers. That is, to give customers all the benefits of an in-house fabrication plant without the associated expense or organizational difficulty. TSMC's strategy is to improve service while at the same time developing long-term competitive advantages through strengthening the bond between TSMC and our customers, thereby ensuring TSMC's continued leadership in the global IC foundry business. As a good corporate citizen, TSMC takes the job of community service and employee relations seriously. TSMC's concerted actions have earned the company several awards from the Taiwanese government in areas such as environmental protection, health and safety, employee welfare, employee training and social welfare. In addition, TSMC has been ranked among Taiwan's leading companies by Taiwan's most prestigious magazines as well as by highly regarded publications elsewhere in the world. Business Week magazine, in its January 12, 1998 issue, selected TSMC Chairman Dr. Morris Chang as one of the "Top 25 Managers of the Year"; at the same time, BancAmerica Robertson Stephens named Dr. Chang one of the most significant contributors in the 50 years of semiconductor industry.