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IDB director touts telecommunications as growth segment

The telecommunication sector has the potential to become the next "star industry" in Taiwan following the semiconductor and panel display industries, the director of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) said on Wednesday.

Chen Chao-yi (陳昭義), who is Texas to attend a board meeting of a Taiwan-US joint venture, noted that his visit is also aimed at seeking multinational cooperation for Taiwan's future "star industry."

Under the "two-trillion, two-star" project initiated by the government, the production value of the semiconductor and display industries would exceed NT$1 trillion (US$31.15 billion) by next year with the digital content and biotechnology sectors also being promoted as "star industries."

Chen noted that the production value of semiconductors in Taiwan has exceeded NT$1 trillion, with that of the display sector expected to reach NT$1 trillion next year, and now he is searching for the third industry whose production value could also reach NT$1 trillion.

According to Chen, the telecommunication sector may be the next industry to boom, as the nation has an excellent wireless telecommunication environment, with the mobile phone penetration rate reaching 111 percent.

Taiwan's fast development in wireless broadband networking, has attracted many global telecommunication giants to consider it as the best partner in research and development, and a good place to use as a test base.

While in Texas, Chen has visited several leading telecommunication companies, and will focus his fact-finding visit on the biotechnology sector in the next few days.

Meanwhile, Chen also said that the US-Taiwan joint venture -- Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp (SSAC) -- will deliver the first of its orders for SJ30-2 twin engine light business jets by the end of this year.

The SSAC, established in 1995 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, has so far received orders for 190 SJ30-2 jets, each worth US$6 million.
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