The groundbreaking ceremony was conducted by TSMC Chairman and CEO Dr. Morris Chang.

ENGADGET: TSMC begins construction of new $9.3b foundry, wants to sate our constant hunger for chips

So-called fabless semiconductor companies such as Altera and Xilinx arose in the 1980s to design specialized chips while leaving the wafer line-work to such all-purpose foundries as Morris Chang's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (see story, p. 50).

FORBES: Ghost cars, ghost brands

One semiconductor industry leader, Morris Chang, who is the chairman and CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd . ( TSM), just recently painted a very dismal outlook not only for the economy but for the semiconductor industry.

FORBES: 4 Strongest Chip Stocks

It was 2005, and Morris Chang, at age 74, had earned his retirement: the global economy had bounced back from a postmillennial downturn, and his Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC, was back leading a wave of change in the electronics industry.

FORBES: Ageless And Peerless In An Era Of Fabless

At yesterday's investor meeting in Taipei, TSMC's chairman and CEO Morris Chang shared the good news that his company's 28nm chip shipment this year will triple that of last year, which should boost its annual increase in revenue to above the industry's average rate of seven percent.

ENGADGET

Their stories of triumph and tribulation have been chronicled as cover stories in FORBES ASIA in the past year, including features on Li Ka-shing, Steve Wynn, Teresita Sy-Coson, Simon and Eleanor Kwok, Vincent Tan, Shyam and Hari Bhartia, as well as Morris Chang, the FORBES ASIA Businessman of the Year in 2012.

FORBES: A Message From FORBES ASIA Publisher William Adamopoulos