(Yicai) Oct. 17 -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing anticipates gaining an indefinite exemption from American export restrictions, responding to a rumor of an alleged regulatory breakthrough.

TSMC is authorized to continue operating its plant in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, and it is running normally, the Hsinchu-headquartered company said to Yicai today. Moreover, it expects to obtain an  permanent authorization through the Validated End-User program based on advice from the United States' Bureau of Industry and Security. The VEU program allows American exporters to ship designated items to pre-approved entities. If TSMC gets approved, it will not need to gain separate approvals for different US-made products.

The BIS previously gave VEU authorizations to South Korean semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Semiconductor so they could supply equipment to their plants in China.

Online rumors today claimed that TSMC may tighten its belt this year to cut its capital expenditures to stand below USD30 billion, the tightest for the past three years, from a sum between USD32 billion and USD36 billion due to a postponed three-nanometer chip order from Intel and a delay in 4nm chip production at its new plant in the US.

In the third quarter, TSMC is likely to have earned between USD16.7 billion and USD17.5 billion in revenue, up by 6.5 percent to 11.6 percent from the previous quarter, the firm forecast recently. The actual results are expected to be released on Oct. 19.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine