The Industry Strategy Symposium 2000 (
The two-day event, organized by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International and the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association, will focus on new technology and manpower management of the chip industry.
But the event's organizers said they will also seek to consolidate industry opinions and coordinate a "technology road map" for the sector in the wake of a worldwide decline in chip demand.
During the conference yesterday, Wu Chin-ju (吳欽智), president of Acer Laboratories Inc (揚智科技), said that a "well-educated and diligent talent pool" is the key to Taiwan's successful IC design development. Weng Cheng-I (翁政義), chairman of National Science Council (國科會), seconded the thought saying that "organizations that will survive into the knowledge-based economy are those with advanced R&D capabilities."
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association Jenda Hu predicted the global semiconductor industry will grow by 20 percent next year while Taiwan's semiconductor industry will see 20 percent growth.
He said, however, that growth in semiconductor production may slacken because of industry concerns about a production surplus.
As to talk of Taiwan experiencing a brain drain to China beginning next July, Hu, who is also the vice president of research and development at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台灣積體電路公司), said he considered this impossible because the mainland's semiconductor industry has not yet reached the level where it was able to compete with Taiwan.
He said that Taiwan will always be able to maintain its competitiveness as long as it continues to invest in the industry.
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