Taiwan’s optoelectronics industry posted a record output value last year by hitting NT$2.27 trillion (US$77.6 billion) amid strong international demand for Taiwanese solar components, LED lighting and electronic paper, the Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association (PIDA, 光電科技工業協進會) said yesterday.
The figure, up 37 percent from last year, smashed the record set in 2007, the association said.
The output value meant Taiwan seized an 18 percent share of the global optoelectronics market, Murphy Lin (林穎毅), director of PIDA’s industry and technology research division, told a media briefing.
“Flat-panel displays have led the growth of Taiwan’s optoelectronics industry for the last 10 years,” he said. “For the next five years, solar power and LED will take center stage.”
There have been signs supporting the trend, he said, as solar modules and solar systems reported the highest output growth last year among all optoelectronics products, by increasing 470 percent and 433 percent respectively.
The third-highest growth came from LED lighting, which expanded 130 percent, Lin said.
The output of the solar power sector is forecast to hit NT$299.8 billion in 2013, from NT$189.5 billion last year, according to PIDA’s statistics.
Asia has increased its weight in world solar battery production, with China commanding 38 percent of the production share last year, Taiwan taking 12 percent and Japan 11 percent, Lin said.
Production shares of Germany and the US were 14 percent and 13 percent respectively last year, the association said.
In terms of the LED sector, PIDA industrial analyst Deaphne Kuo (郭子菱) said the sector will see a boost as more Asian countries, such as Japan, Taiwan and China, deploy LEDs for street lamps and in government offices.
The falling price tags would also add to the attractiveness for people to buy LED lighting, she said.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
MARKET LEADERSHIP: Investors are flocking to Nvidia, drawn by the company’s long-term fundamntals, dominant position in the AI sector, and pricing and margin power Two years after Nvidia Corp made history by becoming the first chipmaker to achieve a US$1 trillion market capitalization, an even more remarkable milestone is within its grasp: becoming the first company to reach US$4 trillion. After the emergence of China’s DeepSeek (深度求索) sent the stock plunging earlier this year and stoked concerns that outlays on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure were set to slow, Nvidia shares have rallied back to a record. The company’s biggest customers remain full steam ahead on spending, much of which is flowing to its computing systems. Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc are
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
The US overtaking China as Taiwan’s top export destination could boost industrial development and wage growth, given the US is a high-income economy, an economist said yesterday. However, Taiwan still needs to diversify its export markets due to the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s administration, said Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮), an economics professor at National Central University. Taiwan’s exports soared to a record US$51.74 billion last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and continued orders, with information and communication technology (ICT) and audio/video products leading all sectors. The US reclaimed its position as Taiwan’s top export market, accounting for