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Ministry forecasts new key sectors

The Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and solar energy industries are expected to become key drivers for the nation's economy in the next few years, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official said yesterday.

Annual sales in the nation's WiMAX industry are expected to reach NT$2.88 billion (US$88.54 million) by the end of the year and surge to NT$16.1 billion next year, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) told a year-end press briefing.

The solar industry, one of the nation's fastest-growing industries, is expected to finish the year with annual sales of NT$40 billion -- almost twice last years' figure of NT$21.2 billion, he said.

Sales of components used in solar energy technology will increase to NT$150 billion in 2010, grabbing a global market share of 6 percent, the ministry forecast.

"In light of the worldwide shortage of polysilicon, a solar wafer maker owned by Taiwan Semiconductor Co (台灣半導體公司) has officially invested NT$1.5 billion in Ilan County's Lize Industrial Park (利澤工業區) to reach its target of [securing] 60 tonnes by next April," Chen said.

At least six other component manufacturers are planning to invest in the polysilicon market, the ministry said.

If these companies realize their investment plans, Chen said the annual sales of the domestic polysilicon industry would surpass NT$430 billion in 2015, adding that this was a conservative forecast.

Separately, Chen also said the nation's trade volume was expected to hit a record high of US$450 billion this year, while the export surplus could hit an all-time high of US$27.5 billion.

Exports expanded to US$232.7 billion as of the middle of this month, up 9.6 percent from a year ago. The expected 5.46 percent growth in exports this year adds up to a boost for the nation's economy, Chen said.

Investments from the private sector are expected to hit NT$1.187 trillion this year, with the IT industry accounting for 61.47 percent, the ministry's latest report showed.

The ministry's target for investment from the private sector this year was of NT$1 trillion.

In the first eleven months of the year, private investment totaled NT$977.16 billion, the ministry's tallies showed.
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