HONG KONG — On Thursday, Taiwan’s leading semiconductor company, TSMC, announced a remarkable 57% increase in profit for the last quarter, a surge largely attributed to the ongoing boom in artificial intelligence technology.

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation reported a net profit amounting to 374.7 billion new Taiwan dollars, approximately $11.4 billion, surpassing market expectations. Last week, the company also revealed that its revenue projections for 2024 increased nearly 34%, reaching 2.9 trillion new Taiwan dollars, equivalent to about $88 billion. For the fourth quarter, revenue saw an impressive rise of 38.8%, totaling 868.46 billion new Taiwan dollars, or around $26.4 billion, which also exceeded forecasts.

However, TSMC finds itself navigating the complexities of heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over trade and technological advancements. Recently, the U.S. government declared it will impose further restrictions on the export of advanced chips used in AI applications, aiming to limit China’s access to this critical technology. Under the new regulations, there are caps on the number of AI chips that can be exported to most nations, although around 20 allied countries, including Taiwan, will enjoy unrestricted access to U.S. AI technology.

These regulatory measures, however, may influence the demand for AI chips from manufacturers like TSMC. To bolster its production capabilities, TSMC has announced plans to construct three new factories in the United States, along with two additional facilities in Japan. Both nations are providing substantial financial incentives and subsidies to TSMC, aimed at enhancing domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.