Taiwan’s three science-based parks posted total production revenue of NT$2.31 trillion (US$68.98 billion) last year, down 0.7 percent year-on-year and the first annual drop in five years, statistics published yesterday by the Ministry of Science and Technology showed.
Last year, the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) generated revenue of NT$1.10 trillion, down 5.34 percent year-on-year, the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) earned NT$492.1 billion, a drop of 5.74 percent, and the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) generated NT$715.1 billion, climbing by a record high of 11.84 percent, mainly due to strong demand for semiconductor products and the rolling out of new smartphones, according to statistics.
Hsinchu Science Park Bureau director-general Tu Chi-hsiang (杜啟祥) attributed the park’s weaker-than-expected performance largely to a year-on-year decrease of NT$95 billion in revenue for MediaTek Inc (聯發科), one of Taiwan’s leading integrated circuit designers, which is located in the park.
The three science parks posted declines in total revenue after the 2008-2009 international financial crisis and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US, respectively. The drop recorded by the three parks last year was the first fall since the European debt crisis of 2011, the ministry said.
Last year, the parks collectively exported a record NT$1.37 trillion worth of goods, up 0.51 percent year-on-year and had staff of about 265,091, also a record high.
The ministry has predicted that the joint production revenue of the three parks is likely to show gradual growth this year, mostly driven by the Internet of Things, big data and semiconductor industries.
However, the export prospects for high-tech industries could be affected by slow international economic growth, intensifying international competition facing domestic industries, China’s excess production capacity and the emergence of China’s own supply chains, the ministry said.
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