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Business booming at nation's science parks

The number of businesses operating in the three major science parks around Taiwan has topped 600, with combined turnover reaching NT$1.23 trillion (US$36.85 billion) in the first eight months of this year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported yesterday.

As of the end of August, the number of businesses operating in the nation's three major science parks -- Hsinchu Science Park, Central Taiwan Science Park and Southern Taiwan Science Park -- totaled 607, 21 more than the same period last year, tallies showed.

Meanwhile, the combined turnover of the three major science parks reached NT$1.23 trillion during the January to August period, posting an 11.6 percent growth compared with the same period last year.

At the end of August, a total of 184,506 people -- excluding foreign workers -- worked at the three science parks, compared to 169,981 people posted in August last year. Of the total, 119,480 were working for companies located at Hsinchu Science Park.

In terms of business turnover, Hsinchu Science Park -- which has long been known as the nation's "Silicon Valley" -- commanded NT$737.3 billion, or 60.2 percent of the combined business turnover of the three facilities in the first eight months of this year, followed by NT$331.3 billion by the Southern Taiwan Science Park and NT$156.5 billion by the Central Taiwan Science Park, DGBAS officials said.

Although the turnover of the Central Taiwan Science Park was the lowest, it marked an annual growth of 54.7 percent.

By industry, integrated circuit manufacturing was the nation's largest industry at the three facilities, commanding NT$634.6 billion, or 51.8 percent of the total turnover in the eight-month period, up 6.7 percent year-on-year.

The opto-electronics industry was the second-largest.

In the first eight months of the year, the three science parks posted combined exports of NT$721.8 billion, up 9.3 percent year-on-year. The figure constitutes 14 percent of the nation's entire export trade.
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