Top firms' profits surge 42.7 percent in 20 years

The top 1,600 local companies reported a record-breaking average revenue increase of 15.4 percent last year from the previous year, while profits soared 42.7 percent in the same period, according to a report released yesterday by the Chinese-language bimonthly CommonWealth.

State-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC, 中油) topped the chart in terms of sales. Last year, CPC reported an annual revenue of NT$565.1 billion (US$18.14 billion), followed by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) with NT$421.7 billion, Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) with NT$347.4 billion, Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) with NT$324.5 billion and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) with NT$255.4 billion, the survey of the nation's top 1,000 manufacturers showed.

TSMC the most last year, the report said. The world's largest made-to-order chipmaker posted NT$92.3 billion in after-tax net income last year, with runner-up China Steel Corp (中鋼) reporting a NT$51.6 billion profit.

The survey was conducted among 1,000 manufacturers, 500 service providers and 100 firms in the banking industry.

"By observing the list over the past 20 years, we concluded that Taiwanese companies have been continuing to surpass higher targets and expand their business scope," Diane Ying (殷允芃), chairwoman of CommonWealth Magazine Group, said at a forum yesterday.

Revenues by the top 1,000 manufacturers last year surpassed the nation's GDP for the first time, Ying said.

The poll showed that Hon Hai, the world's No. 2 electronics-manufacturing service provider, saw the largest revenue growth from 1985 to last year with a 1,454-fold increase. The company also showed the fastest growth in terms of capital assets and net value, which respectively increased 1,156 times and 1,307 times over the past 20 years.

One phenomenon that was highlighted by the poll is the low survival rates across different industries over the past 20 years, which reflects strong competition.

Only percent of manufacturers from 1985 remained in the top 1,000 last year, while the survival rate in the banking sector is 17 percent, and 13 percent among service providers.

Against background of a volatile environment and increased competition, Du Ying-tzung (杜英宗), chairman of Citigroup Global Markets Taiwan Ltd, said Taiwanese companies can strive to remain competitive over the next 20 years by targeting international markets, especially China.

Frank Huang (黃崇仁), chairman of Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), the nation's biggest memory-chip maker, urged the government to liberalize its policies on China-bound investment.

"The government should give us maximum freedom to do business in the world, and not hamper economic development with political considerations," Huang said at the forum.

Powerchip applying to set up an 8-inch-wafer factory in China to improve its market access, a strategy Huang said has already been adopted by many multinational companies.

The sooner the government eases its restrictions, the smaller the threat Chinese companies pose to Taiwanese chipmakers would be, Huang said.