Director-General of the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) Admin-istration James Lee (李界木) for the first time warned against overinvestment by the nation's TFT-LCD manufacturing firms, who are planning to ramp up production at the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) in Taichung County.
"It is worrying to see that this unlimited expansion of the TFT-LCD industry may leave photoelectric plants without any profits and cause the overuse of land, capital, electricity and talent," said Lee. "Therefore, it is advisable to set up criteria for the investment and establishment of new factories in the Central Science Park."
Lee, who doubles as director-general of the planned Ilan Science Park (宜蘭科學園區) Administration, made the remark at a press conference held in Hsinchu on Monday.
Inaugurated two years ago, the Central Taiwan Science Park is becoming a hub for manufacturing photoelectric products in Taiwan. After AU Optronics Corp (
Lee stressed that the government had a key role to play in maintaining the viability of the TFT-LCD sector.
"It's a good thing for the Taiwanese factories to continue investing in Taiwan, but the government has to come up with a strategy to deal with the development of the industry over the next ten years," Lee said. "Otherwise problems such as overproduction, declining prices and the lack of profitability are sure to arise."
Lee said that AU Optronics Corp and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. have placed a large order for a chunk of land, which is likely to push other industries out of the area. In response to Lee's remark, an AU Optronics official who requested anonymity said yesterday that the company believes that if the Central Taiwan Science Park is really running out of space, than the government should figure out how to acquire more land.
The official added that the nation should consider the issue from an international perspective if it intends to stay competitive.
translated by Daniel Cheng
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
JET JUICE: The war on Iran’s secondary effects have seen fuel prices skyrocket, knocking flight schedules down to earth in return as airlines struggle with costs Airline passengers should brace for more irritation in the next few months as carriers worldwide cancel flights and ground planes to cope with stratospheric increases in jet-fuel prices. Dutch flag carrier KLM is the latest company to cut its schedule, saying on Thursday that it would scrap 80 return flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in the coming month. That puts it in the same league as United Airlines Holdings Inc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which have all pruned itineraries to mitigate costs. Global capacity for next month has been reduced by about 3 percentage points, with all
The US said it plans to help build a first-of-its-kind industrial hub in the Philippines to boost production of inputs crucial to US supply chains. The 4,000-acre hub is intended to be “a purpose-built platform for allied manufacturing” and “an investment acceleration hub where the specific industrial activities are shaped by market demand,” the US Department of State said on Thursday. The project — touted as an “economic security zone” — would be within the Luzon Economic Corridor, a flagship economic project backed by the US and Japan on the main Philippine island. The project was also described as “the first artificial intelligence