KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher today, buoyed by supportive local economic policies, positive sentiment from strong technology stocks earnings, and a favourable United States (US) market outlook, an analyst said. Add to that, Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3.0 per cent is poised to encourage domestic spending and investment. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 13.47 points, or 0.83 per cent, to close at its intraday high of 1,634.17, compared to Tuesday’s close of 1,620.70. The benchmark index opened 3.71 points higher at 1,624.41 and subsequently hit a low of 1,623.52 in early trade before trending upwards toward the closing session. Market breadth was positive, with advancers trumping decliners 849 to 352, while 428 counters were unchanged, 765 untraded, and nine suspended. Turnover expanded to 3.39 billion units
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) uncovered this month that chips it produced for a customer ended up with Huawei Technologies Co, a potential violation of US sanctions designed to cut off technology access to the Chinese tech giant. This led to TSMC halting all shipments to the client in mid-October.
The incident sheds new light on recent reports, including from The Information, suggesting US officials have reached out to TSMC about whether it had produced chips for Huawei, which has been on a US sanctions list since 2020.
TSMC has notified both the US and Taiwanese governments and is investigating the situation further. It remains unclear whether the client was acting on Huawei’s behalf or where the client is based. The US Commerce Department has acknowledged the allegations, stating that its Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is aware of reports of possible violations of US export controls.
This discovery has raised questions about how Huawei, despite sanctions, has managed to acquire advanced chips. TechInsights recently discovered TSMC-made processors in Huawei’s latest AI servers, further intensifying scrutiny.
TSMC stated it halted all shipments to Huawei after Sept 15, 2020, reiterating its compliance with export regulations. However, Republican Representative John Moolenaar criticized the situation as a “catastrophic failure of US export control policy,” calling for immediate answers from both BIS and TSMC.
As AI accelerators become a highly sought-after commodity in the tech industry, this development has added pressure on TSMC and the broader semiconductor sector regarding the strict enforcement of US export restrictions.
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