Chip output in Hsinchu may decline by a quarter

The semiconductor output of the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park will fall 25 percent due to a global slump and the terrorist attacks on the US, a news report said yesterday.

"Last year the National Science Council predicted that semiconductor output at the ... industrial park would grow 20 percent this year," Broadcasting Corporation of China (中國廣播公司) said.

"This year, the council revised its growth forecast to 13-21 percent due to the semiconductor industry's global slump. The terror attack on the US has cast a shadow of uncertainty on the world economy, so the council now predicts the science park's semiconductor output will contract by 25 percent," it said.

The park's technology revenue is forecast to be NT$80 billion (US$2.3 billion) this year, compared to last year's NT$90 billion.

The science park accommodates nearly 300 companies which employ 82,000 workers. Sixty percent of those companies manufacture semiconductors.