(Nov 15): Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc took a stake of about US$5 billion in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, disclosing its holding in the world’s leading chipmaker as part of its portfolio changes in the last quarter. The Omaha-based conglomerate acquired about 60 million American depository receipts in TSMC in the three months ended September, it said in a filing. Assuming Buffett bought TSMC’s ADRs at the average price for the third quarter, the stake would have cost him US$5.1 billion. TSMC’s shares rose as much as 5.1% in Taiwan after the disclosure. The company said in October it pulled back on capital spending to about US$36 billion this year, which would still be a record high, down from at least US$40 billion planned previously.
