Taiwan Semi has no 'concrete plans' to build factories in Europe: Chairman
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Chairman Mark Liu told investors on Wednesday that there were no "concrete plans" to build a factory in Europe, but the company was still evaluating the possibility.
"In Europe, we have relatively fewer customers, but we are still assessing and still do not have any concrete plans," Liu said at the company's annual shareholders' meeting, according to Reuters.
Last year, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) discussed the potential expansion into Germany, but Liu's comments seem to suggest that those plans fell awry. 
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), the global leader in the foundry business as it makes chips for a number of clients including Apple (AAPL), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Marvell (MRVL), has been looking to expand around the world.
Last month, the company downplayed a report that said it was looking at building a chip manufacturing plant in Singapore, but added it did not rule out the possibility. 
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) has worked to expand its global footprint with factories all over the world, including one in Arizona that is behind schedule.
At the shareholder meeting on Wednesday, Liu said the company was seeing higher costs at the U.S. plant, but "we can handle it."
The company also recently started construction on a plant in Japan.
In May, it was reported that Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) had started to inform some of its customers that it will raise its prices between 5% and 9%, starting next year.