Taiwan still enjoys a leading status in the high-tech field that China cannot match in the next five years, despite the relocation of some local manufacturers to China because of cheaper production costs there, a government official said yesterday.
"In addition to low labor costs, high-tech companies should also take other factors into account when they're formulating expansion plans [in China]," Tai Chien (戴謙), director general of Southern Taiwan Science Park Administration (南科管理局), said yesterday.
The nation has strong technological support and highly-educated human resources, Tai said.
"Taiwan, which possesses an edge with superior technology support [as it has a more complete supply chain for the high-tech industry], is highly competitive, whereas China only offers cheap labor," he said.
Using the biotechnology industry as an example, Tai said every new product needs to undergo a series of tests before being launched. In that respect, Taiwan is the most cost-efficient location, followed by Singapore and China, he said, citing a survey by Stanford Research Institute.
Tai made the remarks yesterday during a press briefing about Southern Taiwan Science Park (
The optoelectronics sector is the main driving force of the park, followed by the integrated circuit (IC) industry. Last year, the optoelectronics industry created NT$89.7 billion in sales, accounting for 57.8 percent of the park's annual revenue, while IC companies generated NT$60.9 billion in sales, accounting for 39.2 percent.
Tai said the park plans to lure 30 more investors, targeting annual sales of NT$250 billion this year. Chisso Corp of Japan is considering to invest in the park, he said, without elaborating. Chisso supplies liquid crystal materials to both Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) and Hannstar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) at the park.
The park -- consisting of 1,038-hectares in Tainan and 570-hectares in Luchu, Kaohsiung County -- is competing with Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) in Taichung to attract optoelectronics companies. The Taichung park already enjoys an advantage in its transportation network, which includes Taichung Port and Chingchuankang Airport.
Tai dismissed such concerns, saying that the park has finalized infrastructure work including a sewage treatment plant, schools, a shopping complex and buses.
"Most importantly, the so-called `cluster effect' is now beginning in the park, which could draw more IC and flat-panel companies, as well as their component suppliers to set up plants here," Tai said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”