TAIPEI: Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC posted a 19% fall in fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday as global economic woes hit demand for chips used in applications from cars to cellphones and servers.

       Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple Inc and Nvidia supplier, saw October-December net profit drop to T$238.7 billion ($7.6 billion) from T$295.9 billion a year earlier.

       The profit beat a T$226.4 billion LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate. - Reuters