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
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
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six