Demand continues to be the key to a successful business. Thus, strong demand for chips has allowed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a little-known Taiwan-based chip manufacturer, to top the ranking of Asia's most valuable companies.
One of the world's largest chip makers has overtaken China’s tech giant Tencent to become the most valuable company in the Asian region. The reason for such rousing success stems from a combination of two important factors: growing demand for technologies in the automotive-related industry as well as in data centers and the coronavirus pandemic-disrupted supply chains. These factors caused a global shortage of semiconductors. Hundreds of companies around the world faced difficulty in purchasing key parts. Therefore, they had to procure them at higher prices. Against this background, chip manufacturer TSMC managed to take the lead in the market.
In addition, the Chinese government's crackdown on the local tech sector has sparked a major sell-off in the shares of TSMC's competitors. The market capitalization of such giants as Tencent and Alibaba has plummeted amid Beijing's regulatory tightening, while semiconductor shortages have contributed to an increase in the Taiwanese company's stock value. According to Refinitiv Eikon, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company with a market cap of $538 billion is currently ranked first among Asian firms. Tencent worth $536 billion has shifted to second place. Prior to that, the second line in this ranking was occupied by Alibaba with a market value of $472 billion.
