TSMC said it will consider sites in Taiwan before offshore options when it decides the location of a multi-billion dollar foundry early next year.

The Taiwan government is helping the company find the ideal location for an advanced technology 3-nanometer chip plant, it added.

"We do not exclude locations in other countries, but a Taiwan location will be our first consideration," acting spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun told reporters on the sidelines of a shareholders' meeting.

Other tech heavyweights, like Foxconn, and SoftBank have been looking to deepen investment in their US businesses follwing Donald Trump's presidential win last year, built on a campaign promise to boost American manufacturing and jobs.

Chairman Morris Chang said in January he would not rule out a US plant but added that such a move would involve sacrifices for both the company and consumers, pointing to the benefits of being able to shift engineers across the firm's Taiwan factories.

TSMC, a major supplier to Apple, has also flagged plans for the development of 5-nanometer chip plant. A Taiwan location for that factory is under environmental review, Sun said.

The contract chipmaker's plans for new plants come in the wake of record sales and profits last year and an upbeat outlook for 2017 as the shift to mobile computing creates robust global demand for its products.

"This year should also be a pretty good year. Our stock price is very, very good and healthy," Chang told shareholders on Thursday.