IC production set to top NT$1.5 trillion in Taiwan this year

The production value of Taiwan's integrated circuits (IC) industry is expected to post growth of 8.8 percent this year to amount to NT$1.59 trillion (US$51.37 billion), the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) said yesterday.

IC design production is projected to increase 12.6 percent to NT$450 billion, while IC manufacturing production is forecast to rise 5.3 percent to NT$766 billion, IC packaging production is expected to climb 11.8 percent to NT$255 billion and IC testing production is forecast to gain 12.4 percent to amount to NT$115 billion, a report released by the ITRI's Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center said.

The industry's added value is likely to total NT$386 billion this year, up 10.8 percent from last year, the report said.

Last year, the production value of the IC industry amounted to NT$1.46 trillion, marking an increase of 4.6 percent over the previous year. The amount included NT$399.7 billion for IC design, NT$727.4 billion for IC manufacturing, NT$228 billion for IC packaging, and NT$102.3 billion for IC testing.

The industry's added value saw an increase of 6 percent last year to amount to NT$348.5 billion, following growth of 18 percent for 2006, the report said.