The National Science Council yesterday released reports on the performance of the nation’s three science parks in the first half of this year, with total revenue and total exports both exceeding past records.
The council’s reports said the total revenue of the three science parks in the first half of the year reached more than NT$1.631 trillion (US$54.493 billion) — a 17 percent annual growth rate — while total exports reached more than NT$689 billion — an 18.8 percent annual growth rate.
Among the three parks, revenue at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) was about NT$554.9 billion (14.38 percent annual growth), revenue at the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) was about NT$211.6 billion (52.35 percent annual growth) and revenue at the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) was about NT$296.4 billion (4.13 percent annual growth).
The individual performance reports for the three parks all said that revenue growth was largely due to increased global demand for smartphones and tablets.
In the first half of the year, 32 companies had new investments in the science parks approved, 14 of them new ventures which accounted for 44 percent of the new investment.
In addition, the council’s reports showed that the number of employees in the three parks also reached its highest ever level in the first half — 249,071 people as of the end of June, 4,151 more than in December last year.
The council forecast that this year’s total revenue from the three science parks would exceed NT$2.2 trillion.
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