Cross-straits Conflict May Have Spooked Warren Buffett to Liquidate His $4 Billion Stake in TSMC: Report
Ace investor Warren Buffett held a US $4 billion stake in TSMC as of January, and has reportedly sold all of it over a period between February to April, 2023. The sale has triggered alarm bells in some circles over the possible reasons someone like Buffett—who wrote the book on long-term strategic investments—would liquidate their holdings. The ongoing slump in the semiconductor industry, and economic recession in the West, seem to cut it as valid reasons. Fortune Magazine has a more grim theory.
Fortune writes that the possibility of a cross-straits conflict between Taiwan and China is at an all-time high, and this could have been a consideration for Buffett to sell his TSMC stake. It is assessed that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan now—with global chip supply chains not yet having attained "resilience"—would minimize economic reprisals on China from the West. The other side of the story could be that the economic slump, in combination with semiconductor manufacturing facing its biggest technological challenges as it approaches the 20-angstrom realm, may have soured TSMC's long-term prospects for Buffett.
Fortune writes that the possibility of a cross-straits conflict between Taiwan and China is at an all-time high, and this could have been a consideration for Buffett to sell his TSMC stake. It is assessed that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan now—with global chip supply chains not yet having attained "resilience"—would minimize economic reprisals on China from the West. The other side of the story could be that the economic slump, in combination with semiconductor manufacturing facing its biggest technological challenges as it approaches the 20-angstrom realm, may have soured TSMC's long-term prospects for Buffett.