Selected Financial and Operating Data

The selected consolidated statements of profit or loss and other comprehensive income data and other consolidated financial data for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016, and the selected consolidated statements of financial position data as of December 31, 2015 and 2016, set forth below, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included herein, and should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, these consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, which have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Accounting Standards (IAS), IFRIC Interpretations (IFRIC), and SIC Interpretations (SIC) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) (collectively, “IFRSs”). The selected consolidated statements of profit or loss and other comprehensive income data and other consolidated financial data for the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2013 and the selected consolidated statements of financial position data as of December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, set forth below, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not included herein.

In addition to preparing financial statements in accordance with IFRSs included in this annual report, we also prepare financial statements in accordance with the IFRSs as adopted for use in Taiwan (“Taiwan-IFRSs”), which we are required to file with the Financial Supervisory Commission (“FSC”) of the Republic of China (“R.O.C.” or “Taiwan”) and Taiwan Stock Exchange (“TWSE”) under the applicable regulations and listing rules of the TWSE. English translations of such financial statements are furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K, which are not incorporated by reference to this or any of our previous annual reports on Form 20-F.

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Exchange Rates

We publish our financial statements in New Taiwan dollars, the lawful currency of the R.O.C. In this annual report, “$”, “US$” and “U.S. dollars” mean United States dollars, the lawful currency of the United States, and “NT$” and “NT dollars” mean New Taiwan dollars. This annual report contains translations of certain NT dollar amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. The translations from NT dollars to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to NT dollars were made by the exchange rate as set forth in the statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. Unless otherwise noted, all translations for the year 2016 were made at the exchange rate as of December 31, 2016, which was NT$32.40 to US$1.00. On April 7, 2017, the exchange rate was NT$30.56 to US$1.00.

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The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, information concerning the number of NT dollars for which one U.S. dollar could be exchanged.

No representation is made that the NT dollar or U.S. dollar amounts referred to herein could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars or NT dollars, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.

Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

Risk Factors

We wish to caution readers that the following important factors, and those important factors described in other reports submitted to, or filed with, the Securities and Exchange Commission, among other factors, could affect our actual results and could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf, and that such factors may adversely affect our business and financial status and therefore the value of your investment:

Risks Relating to Our Business

Any global systemic political, economic and financial crisis (as well as the indirect effects flowing therefrom) could negatively affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

In recent times, several major systemic economic and financial crises negatively affected global business, banking and financial sectors, including the semiconductor industry and markets. These types of crises, including the prolonged decrease in economic growth or insolvency of major countries, could cause turmoil in global markets that often result in declines in electronic products sales from which we generate our income through our products and services. For example, there could be knock-on effects from these types of crises on our business, including significant decreases in orders from our customers; insolvency of key suppliers resulting in product delays; inability of customers to obtain credit to finance purchases of our products; customer insolvencies; and counterparty failures negatively impacting our treasury operations. Any future systemic political, economic or financial crisis could cause revenues for the semiconductor industry as a whole to decline dramatically, and if the economic conditions or financial conditions of our customers were to deteriorate, additional accounting related allowances may be required in the future and such additional allowances could reduce our operating income and net income. Further, in times of market instability, sufficient external financing may not be available to us on a timely basis, on reasonable market terms, or at all. If sufficient external financing is not available when we need such financing to meet our capital requirements, we may be forced to curtail our expansion and modification plans or delay the deployment of new or expanded services until we obtain such financing. Thus, any future global economic crisis could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

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Our global manufacturing, design and sales activities subject us to risks associated with political, economic or other conditions or developments in various jurisdictions, including in particular the R.O.C., which could negatively affect our business and financial status and therefore the market value of your investment.

The majority of our principal executive officers and our principal production facilities are located in the R.O.C., and a substantial majority of our net revenues is derived from our operations in the R.O.C. In addition, we have operations worldwide and a significant percentage of our revenue comes from sales to locations outside the R.O.C. Operating in the R.O.C. and overseas exposes us to changes in policies and laws, as well as the general political, economic and social conditions, outbreak of war or hostilities, terrorism, trade disputes, security risks, social unrests, protests, strikes, health conditions and possible disruptions in transportation networks, in the various countries in which we operate, which could result in an adverse effect on our business operations in such countries and our results of operations as well as the market price and the liquidity of our ADSs and common shares. Any major change in economic, fiscal and/or trade policies in the U.S. from which we derive a substantial portion of our revenues or in another major jurisdiction could severely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, any U.S. law or government incentive policy that encourages our U.S. customers to relocate their manufacturing capacity or supply chain to the U.S. or require their respective contractors, subcontractors and relevant agents to do so could impair our ability to sustain our current level of productivity and manufacturing efficiency. Our business model is intertwined with an ecosystem of semiconductor suppliers in the R.O.C. that permits thousands of our engineers and other relevant personnel to commute from one manufacturing site to another for purposes of refining specific designs and manufacturing processes in a timely manner. These advantages permit us to operate our manufacturing fabs efficiently and resolve any technical or commercial difficulties quickly to maintain our competitive edge. If these advantages are impaired or lost, we may be unable to sustain our current ability to supply our customers with goods and services at the current level of cost, quality, quantity and delivery schedule to which our customers have been accustomed.

As another example, the financial markets have viewed certain past developments in relations between the R.O.C. and P.R.C. as occasions to depress general market prices of the securities of Taiwanese companies, including our own. In addition, the R.O.C. government has not lifted some trade and investment restrictions imposed on Taiwanese companies on the amount and types of certain investments that can be made in P.R.C. Our plans, investment applications and/or any relevant regulatory approvals to establish or possibly expand operations in P.R.C. may be delayed, interrupted, suspended or cancelled due to unforeseeable social and political factors in R.O.C. or P.R.C.

In addition to the above factors, future expansions of our operations in R.O.C. will likely be handicapped by shortages in water and electricity, the limited availability of commercial-use land, and experienced human resources.

Decreases in demand and average selling prices for products that contain semiconductors may adversely affect demand for our products and may result in a decrease in our revenues and earnings.

A vast majority of our revenue is derived from customers who use our services in communication devices, personal computers, consumer electronics products and industrial/standard products. Any decrease in the demand for any one of these products may decrease the demand for overall global semiconductor foundry services, including our services, and may adversely affect our revenues. Further, semiconductor manufacturing facilities require substantial investment to construct and are largely fixed cost assets once they are in operation. Because we own most of our manufacturing capacities, a significant portion of our operating costs is fixed. In general, these costs do not decline when customer demand or our capacity utilization rates drop, and thus declines in customer demand, among other factors, may significantly decrease our margins. Conversely, as product demand rises and factory utilization increases, the fixed costs are spread over increased output, which can improve our margins. In addition, the historical and current trend of declining average selling prices (or “ASP”) of end use applications places downward pressure on the prices of the components that go into such applications. If the ASP of end use applications continues decreasing, the pricing pressure on components produced by us may lead to a reduction of our revenues, margin and earnings.

Since we are dependent on the highly cyclical semiconductor and electronics industries, which have experienced significant and sometimes prolonged periods of downturns and overcapacity, our revenues, earnings and margins may fluctuate significantly.

The electronics industries and semiconductor market are cyclical and subject to significant and often rapid increases and decreases in product demand. Our semiconductor foundry business is affected by market conditions in such highly cyclical electronics and semiconductor industries. Variations in order levels from our customers may result in volatility in our revenues and earnings. From time to time, the electronics and semiconductor industries have experienced significant and sometimes prolonged periods of downturns and overcapacity. Because we are, and will continue to be, dependent on the requirements of electronics and semiconductor companies for our services, periods of downturns and overcapacity in the general electronics and semiconductor industries could lead to reduced demand for overall semiconductor foundry services, including our services. If we cannot take appropriate actions such as reducing our costs to sufficiently offset declines in demand, our revenues, margin and earnings will suffer during periods of downturns and overcapacity.

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If we are unable to remain a technological leader in the semiconductor industry or if we are unable to timely respond to fast-changing semiconductor market dynamics, we may become less competitive.

The semiconductor industry and its technologies are constantly changing. We compete by developing process technologies using increasingly advanced nodes and on manufacturing products with more functions. We also compete by developing new derivative technologies. If we do not anticipate these changes in technologies and rapidly develop new and innovative technologies, or our competitors unforeseeably gain sudden access to additional technologies, we may not be able to provide foundry services on competitive terms. In addition, our customers have significantly decreased the time in which their products or services are launched into the market. If we are unable to meet these shorter product time-to-market, we risk losing these customers. These factors have also been intensified by the shift of the global technology market to consumer driven products such as mobile devices, and increasing concentration of customers and competition (all further discussed among these risk factors). If we are unable to innovate new technologies that meet the demands of our customers or overcome the above factors, our revenues may decline significantly. Although we have concentrated on maintaining a competitive edge in research and development, if we fail to achieve advances in technologies or processes, we may become less competitive.

In light of the rise of new foundry service providers worldwide, if we are unable to compete effectively in the highly competitive foundry segment of the semiconductor industry, we may lose customers and our profit margin and earnings may decrease.

The markets for our foundry services are highly competitive. We compete with other foundry service providers, as well as integrated device manufacturers that devote a significant portion of their manufacturing capacity to foundry operations. Some of these companies may have access to more advanced technologies and greater financial and other resources than us, such as the possibility of receiving direct or indirect government bailout/economic stimulus funds or other incentives that may be unavailable to us. For example, China companies are expected to be the key drivers of new semiconductor fab development and fab equipment spending through 2020. In 2016 alone, it was reported that over twenty new semiconductor fab projects have been announced or being developed within China due to various incentives provided by China government. Further, our competitors may, from time to time, also decide to undertake aggressive pricing initiatives in one or more technology nodes. Increases in these competitive activities may decrease our customer base, or our ASP, or both. If we are unable to compete with any and each of these new competitors on technology, manufacturing capacity and capability, and customer satisfaction, we risk losing customers to these new contenders.

If we are unable to manage our capacity and production facilities effectively, our competitiveness may be weakened.

We perform long-term market demand forecast for our products and services to manage our overall capacity. Because market conditions are dynamic, our market demand forecast may change significantly at any time. During periods of decreased demand, certain manufacturing lines or tools in some of our manufacturing facilities may be suspended or shut down temporarily. However, if subsequent demand increases rapidly in a short period of time, we may not be able to restore the capacity in a timely manner.

Recently, according to the market demand forecast, we have been adding capacity in our 300mm wafer fabs to fulfill market needs for our products and services. Expansion of our capacity will increase our costs. For example, we will need to purchase additional equipment, hire additional personnel and train personnel to operate the new equipment. If we do not increase our net revenue accordingly, our financial performance may be adversely affected by these increased costs. See “Item 4. Information on The Company – Capacity Management and Technology Upgrade Plans” for a further discussion.

Having one or more large customers that account for a significant percentage of our revenues may render us vulnerable to the loss of or significant curtailment of purchases by such customers that could in turn adversely affect our results of operations. Similarly, the increasing consolidation of our customers may further increase our revenue concentration.

Over the years, our customer profile and the nature of our customers’ business have changed dramatically. While we generate revenue from hundreds of customers worldwide, our ten largest customers in 2014, 2015, and 2016 accounted for approximately 63%, 63% and 69% of our net revenue in the respective year. Our largest customer in 2014, 2015, and 2016 accounted for 21%, 16% and 17% of our net revenue in the respective year. Our second largest customer in 2014, 2015, and 2016 accounted for 9%, 16% and 11% of our net revenue in the respective year. A more concentrated customer base will subject our revenue to seasonal demand fluctuations from our large customers, and cause different seasonal patterns of our business. This customer concentration results in part from the changing dynamics of the electronics industry with the structural shift to mobile devices and applications and software that provide the content for such devices. There are only a limited number of customers who are successfully exploiting this new business model paradigm. Also, in order to respond to the new business model paradigm, we have seen the changes of nature in our customers’ business models. For example, there is a growing trend toward the rise of system houses that operate in a manner which make their products and services more marketable in a changing consumer market. Also, since the global semiconductor industry is becoming increasingly competitive, some of our customers have engaged in industry consolidations in order to remain competitive. Such consolidations have taken the form of mergers and acquisitions. If more of our major customers consolidate, this will further decrease the overall number of our customer pool. The loss of, or significant curtailment of purchases by, one or more of our top customers, including curtailments due to increased competitive pressures, industry consolidation, a change in their designs, or change in their manufacturing sourcing policies or practices of these customers, or the timing of customer or distributor inventory adjustments, or change in our major customers’ business models may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

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If our internet security systems succumb to cyber attacks initiated by third party entities worldwide, our manufacturing as well as daily operations may be severely interrupted or shutdown indefinitely that may materially harm our financial results, our commitments to our customers and stakeholders, and corporate goodwill.

Even though we have established a comprehensive internet and computing security network, we cannot guarantee that our computing systems which control or maintain vital corporate functions like our manufacturing operations and enterprise accounting would be completely immune to crippling cyber viral attacks launched by third party to gain unauthorized access to our internal network systems to sabotage our operations and goodwill. In the event of a serious cyber attack, our systems may lose important corporate data and our production lines may be shutdown indefinitely pending the resolution of such attack. These cyber attacks may also attempt to steal our trade secrets and other intellectual properties and other sensitive information, such as proprietary information of our customers and other stakeholders and personal information of our employees. Malicious hackers may also try to introduce computer viruses, corrupted software or ransomware into our network systems to disrupt our operations, blackmail us for regaining control of our computing systems or spy for sensitive information. These attacks may result in us having to pay damages for our delayed or disrupted orders or incur significant expenses in attempting to re-establish control over our network. If we are not able to timely resolve the technical difficulties caused by such cyber attacks, or ensure the integrity and availability of our data or control of our computing systems, our financial results as well as our commitments to our customers and other stakeholders may be materially impaired.

We may not be able to implement our planned growth and development or maintain our leading position if we are unable to recruit and retain qualified executives, managers and skilled technical and service personnel.

We rely on the continued services and contributions of our executive officers and skilled technical and other personnel. Our business could suffer if we lose, for whatever reasons, the services and contributions of some of these personnel and we cannot adequately replace them. We may be required to increase or reduce the number of employees in connection with any business expansion or contraction, in accordance with market demand for our products and services. Since there is intense competition for the recruitment of these personnel, we cannot ensure that we will be able to fulfill our personnel requirements in a timely manner.

We may be unable to obtain in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost equipment that are necessary for us to remain competitive.

Our operations and ongoing expansion plans depend on our ability to obtain an appropriate amount of equipment and related services from a limited number of suppliers in a market that is characterized from time to time by limited supply and long delivery cycles. During such times, supplier-specific or industry-wide lead times for delivery can be as long as six months or more. To better manage our supply chain, we have implemented various business models and risk management contingencies with suppliers to shorten the procurement lead time. Further, the growing complexities especially in next-generation lithographic technologies may delay the timely availability of the equipment and parts needed to exploit time sensitive business opportunities and also increase the market price for such equipment and parts. If we are unable to obtain equipment in a timely manner to fulfill our customers’ demands on technology and production capacity, or at a reasonable cost, our financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

Our revenue and profitability may decline if we are unable to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials in a timely manner and at commercially reasonable prices.

Our production operations require that we obtain adequate supplies of raw materials, such as silicon wafers, gases, chemicals, and photoresist, on a timely basis and at commercially reasonable prices. In the past, shortages in the supply of some materials, whether by specific vendors or by the semiconductor industry generally, have resulted in occasional industry-wide price adjustments and delivery delays. For example, the recent increase in silicon wafer prices due to increased demand for such wafers across industry is expected to negatively impact our gross margin in 2017. In addition, major natural disasters, political or economic turmoil occurring within the country of origin of such raw materials may also significantly disrupt the availability of such raw materials or increase their prices. Also, since we procure some of our raw materials from sole-source suppliers, there is a risk that our need for such raw materials may not be met or that back-up supplies may not be readily available. Our revenue and earnings could decline if we are unable to obtain adequate supplies of the necessary raw materials in a timely manner or if there are significant increases in the costs of raw materials that we cannot pass on to our customers.

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Any inability to obtain, preserve, enforce, defend and protect our technologies, intellectual property rights and third-party licenses could harm our competitive position.

Our ability to compete successfully and to achieve future growth will depend in part on the continued strength of our intellectual property portfolio. While we actively enforce and protect our intellectual property rights, there can be no assurance that our efforts will be adequate to prevent the misappropriation or improper use of our proprietary technologies, software, trade secrets or know-how. Also, we cannot assure you that, as our business or business models expand into new areas, we will be able to develop independently the technologies, patents, software, trade secrets or know-how necessary to conduct our business or that we can do so without unknowingly infringing the intellectual property rights of others. As a result, we may have to rely on, to a certain degree, licensed technologies and patent licenses from others. To the extent that we rely on licenses from others, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain any or all of the necessary licenses in the future on terms we consider reasonable or at all. The lack of necessary licenses could expose us to claims for damages and/or injunctions from third parties, as well as claims for indemnification by our customers in instances where we have contractually agreed to indemnify our customers against damages resulting from infringement claims.

We have received, from time-to-time, communications from third parties asserting that our technologies, our manufacturing processes, or the design of the semiconductors made by us or the use of those semiconductors by our customers may infringe their patents or other intellectual property rights. Because of the nature of the industry, we may continue to receive such communications in the future. These assertions have at times resulted in litigation. Recently, there has been a notable increase within the industry in the number of assertions made and lawsuits initiated by certain litigious, non-practicing entities and these litigious, non-practicing entities are also becoming more aggressive in their monetary demands and requests for court-issued injunctions. Such lawsuits or assertions may increase our cost of doing business and may potentially be extremely disruptive if these non-practicing entities succeed in blocking the trade of products and services offered by us.

We have or are expanding our manufacturing operations into certain offshore jurisdictions. To mitigate the risk of intellectual property misappropriation, we have implemented heightened safeguards against such misappropriation.

If we fail to obtain or maintain certain technologies or intellectual property licenses or fail to prevent our intellectual property from being misappropriated and, if litigation relating to alleged intellectual property matters occurs, it could: (i) prevent us from manufacturing particular products or selling particular services or applying particular technologies; and (ii) reduce our ability to compete effectively against entities benefiting from our misappropriated intellectual property, which could reduce our opportunities to generate revenues. See “Item 8. Financial Information – Legal Proceedings” for a further discussion.

Our operational results could also be materially and adversely affected by natural disasters ( such as earthquakes), shortages or interruptions in the supply of utilities (such as shortages in electricity caused by changes in governmental energy policy), in the locations in which we, our customers or our suppliers operate or by industrial accidents, fires or explosions.

The frequency and severity of natural disasters and severe weather has been increasing, in part due to climate change or systemic regional geological changes that manifest in damaging earthquakes. We have manufacturing and other operations in locations subject to natural disasters, such as flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis, and droughts as well as interruptions or shortages in the supply of utilities, such as water and electricity, or access to land, air or sea infrastructures, that could disrupt operations. On February 6, 2016, Taiwan, in which the majority of our manufacturing fabs are located, suffered an earthquake that damaged some of our wafers and equipment and resulted in wafer delivery delays in the first quarter of 2016. In addition, our suppliers and customers also have operations in such locations. For example, most of our production facilities, as well as those of many of our suppliers and customers and upstream providers of complementary semiconductor manufacturing services, are located in Taiwan and Japan, which are susceptible to earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, typhoons, and droughts from time to time that may cause shortages in electricity and water or interruptions to our operations. Further, we have occasionally suffered power outages or surges in Taiwan caused by difficulties encountered by our electricity supplier, the Taiwan Power Company, or other power consumers on the same power grid, which have resulted in interruptions to our operations. Such shortages or interruptions in our electricity supply could further be exacerbated by changes in the energy policy of the government which will make Taiwan a nuclear-free country by 2025. If we are unable to secure reliable and uninterrupted supply of electricity to power our manufacturing fabs within Taiwan, our ability to satisfy the orders of our customers will be severely undercut.

Thus, if one or more natural disasters, shortage or interruptions to the supply of utilities (such as shortages in electricity caused by a nuclear-free energy policy) that results in a prolonged disruption to our operations or those of our customers or suppliers, or if any of our fabs or vendor facilities were to be damaged or cease operations as a result of an explosion or fire, it could reduce our manufacturing capacity and may cause us to lose important customers, thereby having a potentially adverse and material impact on our operational and financial performance.

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Adverse fluctuations in exchange rates could decrease our operating margin and/or revenues.

Over one-half of our capital expenditures and manufacturing costs are denominated in currencies other than NT dollars, primarily in U.S. dollars, Japanese yen and Euros. In 2016, more than 90% of our revenues were denominated in U.S. dollars and currencies other than NT dollars. Therefore, any significant fluctuation to our disadvantage in such exchange rates would have an adverse effect on our financial condition. For example, because our functional currency is denominated in NT dollars, every 1% depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the NT dollar exchange rate may result in approximately 0.4 percentage point decrease in our operating margin based on our 2016 results.

Conversely, if the U.S. dollar appreciates significantly versus other major currencies, the demand for the products and services of our customers and for our goods and services will likely decrease, which will negatively affect our revenues. Please see “Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” for a further discussion on the possible impact of other market factors on our results of operations.

If certain of our strategic investments fail to achieve their respective forecasted returns or objectives, we may suffer financial losses that may materially lower our profit margin and distributable earnings.

From time to time, we have made or will make a series of strategic investments. There is no guarantee that any of such investments will be successful commercially. Any such investment will incur risks, which may result in losses even with careful management. Any such loss resulting from such investments may result in significant impairment charges, lower profit margin and ultimately lower distributable earnings.

Our failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations material to our operations such as environmental and climate related laws and regulations, or the inability to timely obtain requisite approvals necessary for the conduct of our business, such as fab land and construction approvals, could harm our business and operational results.

Because we engage in manufacturing activities in multiple jurisdictions and conduct business with our customers located worldwide, such activities are subject to a myriad of governmental regulations. For example, the manufacturing, assembling and testing of our products require the use of metals, chemicals, and materials that are subject to environmental, climate-related, health and safety, and humanitarian conflict-free sourcing laws, regulations and guidelines issued worldwide. Although we may be eligible for various exemptions and/or extensions of time for compliance, our failure to comply with any applicable laws or regulations that materially affect our business and operations could result in:

Complying with applicable laws and regulations, such as environmental and climate related laws and regulations, could also require us, among other things, to do the following: (a) purchase, use or install remedial equipments; (b) implement remedial programs such as climate change mitigation programs; (c) modify our product designs and manufacturing processes, or incur other significant expenses such as obtaining substitute raw materials or chemicals that may cost more or be less available for our operations.

Our inability to timely obtain approvals necessary for the conduct of our business could impair our operational and financial results. For example, if we are unable to timely obtain environmental related approvals needed to undertake the development and construction of a new fab or expansion project, then such inability may delay, limit, or increase the cost of our expansion plans that could also in turn adversely affect our business and operational results. In light of increased public interest in environmental issues, our operations and expansion plans may be adversely affected or delayed responding to public concern and social environmental pressures even if we comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

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For further details, please see our compliance record with Taiwan and international environmental and climate related laws and regulations as well as our business continuity management of climate change policy in “Item 4. Information on The Company – Environmental Regulations”.

Any impairment charges may have a material adverse effect on our net income.

Under IFRSs, we are required to evaluate our investments, tangible assets and intangible assets for impairment whenever triggering events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset may be impaired. If certain criteria are met, we are required to record an impairment charge. We are also required under IFRSs to evaluate goodwill for impairment at least on an annual basis or more frequently whenever triggering events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill may be impaired and the carrying value may not be recoverable. We hold investments in certain publicly listed and private companies, some of which have incurred certain impairment charges as discussed further in our financial statements. We are not able to estimate the extent or timing of any impairment charge for future years. Any impairment charge required may have a material adverse effect on our net income.

The determination of an impairment charge at any given time is based significantly on the projected results of operations over a number of years subsequent to that time. Consequently, an impairment charge is more likely to occur during a period when our operating results are otherwise already depressed. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Reviews and Prospects – Critical Accounting Policies and Judgments” for a discussion of how we assess if an impairment charge is required and, if so, how the amount is determined.

Any failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reasonable assurance with respect to our financial reports and to effectively prevent fraud. If we cannot provide reasonable assurance with respect to our financial reports and effectively prevent fraud and corruption, our reputation and results of operations could be harmed.

We are required to comply with various R.O.C. and U.S. laws and regulations on internal controls. But internal controls may not prevent or detect misstatements because of their inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, fraud or corruption. Therefore, even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, our business and operating results could be harmed, we could fail to meet our reporting obligations, and there could be a material adverse effect on the market price of our common shares and ADSs.

Amendments to existing tax regulations or new tax legislation in the R.O.C. may have an adverse effect on our net income.

While we are subject to tax laws and regulations in various jurisdictions in which we operate or conduct business, our principal operations are conducted in the R.O.C. and we are exposed primarily to taxes levied by the government of the R.O.C. Any unfavorable changes of tax laws and regulations in this jurisdiction could increase our effective tax rate and have an adverse effect on our operating results. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Reviews and Prospects – Taxation” for further discussion of significant tax regulation changes.

Fluctuations in inflationary and deflationary expectations and resulting market volatility could negatively affect costs of and demand for our products and services, which may harm our financial results.

The global economy is becoming more vulnerable to sudden unexpected fluctuations in inflationary and deflationary expectations and conditions. Expectations of high inflation and deflation each adversely affects the economy, at both macro and micro levels, by reducing economic efficiency and disrupting investment decisions. Recently, political uncertainty and negative interest rate policies adopted by some major world economies have exacerbated global fluctuations in inflationary and deflationary expectations. These macro-economic changes have also resulted in market volatility. Such fluctuations and volatility may negatively affect the costs of our operations and the business operations of our customers who may be forced to plan their purchases of our goods and services within an uncertain economy. Therefore, the demand for our products and services could unexpectedly fluctuate severely in accordance with expectations of inflation or deflation as affected by market volatility. Please see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Reviews and Prospects – Inflation & Deflation” for a further discussion.

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Risks Relating to Ownership of ADSs

Your voting rights as a holder of ADSs will be limited.

Holders of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) evidencing ADSs may exercise voting rights with respect to the common shares represented by these ADSs only in accordance with the provisions of our ADS deposit agreement. The deposit agreement provides that, upon receipt of notice of any meeting of holders of our common shares, the depositary bank will, as soon as practicable thereafter, mail to the holders (i) the notice of the meeting sent by us, (ii) voting instruction forms and (iii) a statement as to the manner in which instructions may be given by the holders.

ADS holders will not generally be able to exercise the voting rights attaching to the deposited securities on an individual basis. According to the provisions of our ADS deposit agreement, the voting rights attaching to the deposited securities must be exercised as to all matters subject to a vote of shareholders collectively in the same manner, except in the case of an election of directors. Election of directors is by means of cumulative voting. See “Item 10. Additional Information – Voting of Deposited Securities” for a more detailed discussion of the manner in which a holder of ADSs can exercise its voting rights.

You may not be able to participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution of your holdings.

We may, from time to time, distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire securities. Under our ADS deposit agreement, the depositary bank will not distribute rights to holders of ADSs unless the distribution and sale of rights and the securities to which these rights relate are either exempt from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), with respect to all holders of ADSs, or are registered under the provisions of the Securities Act. Although we may be eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions for rights offerings by certain foreign companies, we can give no assurance that we can establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, and we are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to have such a registration statement declared effective. Accordingly, holders of ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution of their holdings as a result.

If the depositary bank is unable to sell rights that are not exercised or not distributed or if the sale is not lawful or reasonably practicable, it will allow the rights to lapse, in which case you will receive no value for these rights.

The value of your investment may be reduced by possible future sales of common shares or ADSs by us or our shareholders or fluctuations in foreign exchange.

One or more of our existing shareholders may, from time to time, dispose of significant numbers of our common shares or ADSs. For example, the National Development Fund of Taiwan, R.O.C. which owned 6.38% of TSMC’s outstanding shares as of February 28, 2017, has from time to time in the past sold our shares in the form of ADSs in several transactions.

We cannot predict the effect, if any, that future sales of ADSs or common shares, or the availability of ADSs or common shares for future sale, will have on the market price of ADSs or common shares prevailing from time to time. Sales of substantial amounts of ADSs or common shares in the public market, or the perception that such sales may occur, could depress the prevailing market price of our ADSs or common shares. In addition, fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the NT dollar may affect the U.S. dollar value of our common shares and the market price of the ADSs and of any cash dividends paid in NT dollars on our common shares represented by ADSs.

The market value of our shares may fluctuate due to the volatility of, and government intervention in, the R.O.C. securities market.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange experiences from time to time substantial fluctuations in the prices and volumes of sales of listed securities. There are currently limits on the range of daily price movements on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. In response to past declines and volatility in the securities markets in Taiwan, and in line with similar activities by other countries in Asia, the government of the R.O.C. formed the Stabilization Fund, which has purchased and may from time to time purchase shares of Taiwan companies to support these markets. In addition, other funds associated with the R.O.C. government have in the past purchased, and may from time to time purchase, shares of Taiwan companies on the Taiwan Stock Exchange or other markets. These funds have disposed and may from time to time dispose shares of Taiwan companies so purchased at a later time. In the future, market activity by government entities, or the perception that such activity is taking place, may take place or has ceased, may cause fluctuations in the market prices of our ADSs and common shares.

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