The Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park's (新竹科學園區) first half sales grew 11 percent to NT$368.4 billion, the National Science Council reported yesterday.
Driven by strong growth in the integrated-circuit (IC) and optoelectronic sectors, total sales are expected to reach between NT$800 billion and NT$850 billion this year, with an annual growth rate of between 13 percent and 20 percent, the park officials reported.
"The prediction should be reliable, because it's drawn from local and overseas research," Chen Ming-huang (陳銘煌), director of the park's division of investment services, said at a press conference held yesterday in Taipei.
The US-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) predicts that total sales of global IC firms will grow 10.15 percent this year to US$ 154.9 billion, Chen said.
Taiwan's IC industry is predicted grow 23 percent this year, Chen said.
Sales in the park's IC and optoelectronic sectors grew 14 percent and 23.7 percent, respectively, in the first half.
The park's IC firms reported total sales of NT$245.4 billion, accounting for 66.6 percent of the park's sales.
Sales for the telecommunications rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in the first half and 8.9 percent for the biotechnology sector.
As of the end of June, the park's 347 companies employed a total of 98,794 workers.
The council has been promoting the park in the US for the last two years, luring Taiwanese high-tech professionals from in Silicon Valley, Chen said.
The park is also continuing to attract investment. Thirty-four companies invested NT$12.74 billion in the park during the last six month.
Ten of the companies are foreign-based and 18 are managed by Taiwanese who are currently receiving higher education abroad.
Twenty-four companies have filed applications for capital increment approval worth NT$157.33 billion, which is a 26 percent increase from a year ago.
Sales of computer-peripherals and precision machinery, however, dropped 2.6 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.
James Lee (李界木), the park's director general, said the drop was triggered by labor-intensive industries shifting production to China.
"Taiwan's high-tech production is increasingly shifting to China as commercial exchanges increase," Lee said.
Hong Kong and China are now the top two overseas destinations for about 34 percent of Taiwan's high-tech exports.
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