Taiwan Semiconductor Mnufacturing Company (TSMC) will advance volume production on its 16nm process to the first quarter of 2015 with monthly output of 50,000 wafers in order to meet demand for Apple's A9 processors, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) has reported.

TSMC originally planned to kicked off 16nm volume production in second-quarter 2015. TSMC faces strong competition from Samsung Electronics' foundry business.

Apple is expected to become the largest client for TSMC, which industry sources say has been ramping up production of its A8 processors and is likely to continue to fabricate its A9 in 2015.