SINGAPORE, July 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan's TSMC

scaled a record high on Thursday after posting strong

second-quarter revenue on booming demand for AI applications,

cementing its position as Asia's most valuable company.

TSMC also topped a trillion dollar market value this week.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The AI frenzy has sparked a rally in chipmaker stocks across

the globe. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( TSM ) , the

world's largest contract chipmaker, whose customers include AI

poster child Nvidia ( NVDA ), has especially benefited from the

soaring demand for AI-capable chips.

Foreign investors have poured $4.8 billion so far this year

into Taiwan's stock market, which is dominated by TSMC. Asian

funds, however, according to HSBC, still remain underweight on

Taiwan, suggesting there could be room for further inflow.

BY THE NUMBERS

Shares of TSMC, whose customers also include Apple ( AAPL ),

have jumped nearly 80% this year, widely outperforming the

benchmark Taiwan SE Weighted Index, which is up 35%.

On Thursday, TSMC's Taipei-listed shares rose more than 2%

to a record T$1,080, taking the company's market value to T$28

trillion ($861 billion) and making it Asia's most valuable

publicly listed company.

TSMC's ADRs, first listed on the NYSE in 1997,

jumped 4.8% to a record $192.79 on Monday, briefly boosting the

firm's market value to $1 trillion. On Wednesday, the ADRs

closed at $191.05.

TSMC is due to report its full second-quarter earnings on

July 18.

CONTEXT

AI-focused companies, mostly chipmakers, have had a good run

this year and saw big gains in market capitalization in June.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) briefly overtook Microsoft ( MSFT ) last

month to become the world's most valuable company. Nvidia ( NVDA ),

Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Apple ( AAPL ) all have market values above $3 trillion.

TSMC's strong results lifted global chip stocks, with the

Philadelphia semiconductor index rising 2.4% to a record

on Wednesday.

QUOTE

"Optimism continues to grow around AI-related demand and

potential pricing powers, as TSMC's position as leading foundry

supplier should elevate earnings in 2025," said Daniel Tan,

portfolio manager at Singapore-based Grasshopper Asset

Management.

"In an industry facing increasing tight supply, TSMC's value

has to appreciate further in 2025 as customers bid to get

sufficient capacity allocation."

($1 = 32.5490 Taiwan dollars)