New Southbound Policy Portal

Revenues at Taiwan’s three science parks rose 5.47 percent year on year to a record NT$2.59 trillion (US$84.1 billion) in 2018, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology March 5.
 
Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan led the way with revenues of NT$1.07 trillion (US$34.8 billion), up 5.56 percent from the previous year. Although Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan and Kaohsiung cities reported a drop of 9.46 percent to NT$796 billion (US$25.8 billion), this decline was offset by a 28.56 percent surge to NT$725 billion (US$23.5 billion) at Central Taiwan Science Park.

The integrated circuit sector remained the top revenue generator at the parks, increasing 10.14 percent to NT$1.79 trillion (US$58 billion). Computer components and telecommunication devices also registered impressive growth, rising 10.73 percent and 9.22 percent to NT$49 billion (US$1.58 billion) and NT$45.9 billion (US$1.48 billion), respectively.
 
According to the MOST, the strong performance for 2018 is due to stable growth in major global markets and rising demand for semiconductors and emerging technologies in such fields as artificial intelligence and Internet of Things.
 
The parks also delivered record combined exports, up 3.3 percent to NT$1.78 trillion (US$57.7 billion). Total employment similarly set a new benchmark at 275,761, an increase of 1.3 percent from the previous year.
 
Cautioning on the potential impact of the U.S.-China trade war, the MOST said it forecasts moderate revenue growth at the parks in 2019. Emerging opportunities in areas spanning 5G, AI, biometrics, high-performance computing and IoT are expected to drive exports going forward, the ministry added. (HC-E)

Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw