(Corrects formatting of Reuters instrument code)
By Sarah Wu
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan chip designer MediaTek Inc <2454.TW> on Wednesday said that its supply for next year is largely in hand, amid a global chip shortage that has disrupted production for car makers and consumer electronics suppliers.
“In terms of supply challenges, I think MediaTek has done pretty well on this front,” MediaTek Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Tsai told a news conference. “We have already nearly prepared our supply for next year.”
Tech powerhouse Taiwan, home to the world’s largest contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (2330.TW) (TSMC), has become front and centre of efforts to resolve the chip shortage.
It is crucial to be “a reliable partner that lets customers feel at ease,” Tsai said. “No matter how good the technology is, it’s useless if you can’t actually get the wafers.”
MediaTek President Joe Chen said that facing high levels of uncertainty, the company must “build a close relationship with our strategic partners.”
MediaTek hit $10 billion in revenue for the first time last year, and the Hsinchu, Taiwan-based company expects to reach $17 billion this year. Tsai told reporters that $20 billion is “around the corner.”
MediaTek last month released a new 5G smartphone chip that it hopes will be used in premium-priced Android smartphones, a market Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) currently dominates.
(Reporting by Sarah Wu; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
