The Kaohsiung Exhibition and Convention Center, set to open next year, is expected to create up to 30,000 jobs a year after 10 years in operation, the center’s operator said yesterday.
After seven years of planning and two years under construction, the center is scheduled to open in April for the annual Taiwan International Fastener Show, Kaohsiung Exhibition Center Corp president Michael Tu (涂建國) told a press conference.
Other shows scheduled for next year are the Taiwan International Boat Show in May and the Kaohsiung Food Show in October, Tu added.
Established to provide a venue for expo organizers in the south, the center will be able to host more than 30 exhibitions a year and create about 1,000 jobs for each event, Tu said.
“The center is also helpful to the nation’s meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions [MICE] industry,” he said.
“We expect to enhance Greater Kaohsiung’s competitiveness [with the opening of the center] and reinvigorate Kaohsiung Harbor,” he added.
Kaohsiung Exhibition Center Corp will be managing the center’s daily operation for 12-and-a-half-years starting next year, according to a contract the company signed with the Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday.
Tu said the company plans to invest NT$250 million (US$8.34 million) to upgrade the center in the coming years and aims to generate up to NT$3.4 billion in return on investment by the end of 2026.
The center also hopes to differentiate itself from the Taipei World Trade Center by offering better management with lower carbon emissions, he said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) chairman Wang Chih-kang (王志剛) said he expected the Kaohsiung center to help develop Greater Kaohsiung into an internationally renowned city featuring its local MICE industry.
“I’ve been worried about Taiwan’s MICE industry, having seen how China and Hong Kong have added more expo centers to exhibit China-made products,” Wang said.
He said the center is also crucial to balance economic development in the north and south and should be beneficial to Greater Kaohsiung’s yacht-building industry and tourism.
The economics ministry initiated the center project in 2006, which costs up to NT$3 billion. The center has a total floor area of 67,000m2, which can accommodate 1,424 exhibition booths and different meeting room sizes suitable for up to 4,000 people, the company said.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI
RIDING AI WAVE: : Most of its NT$15bn capital budget would be spent on packaging technologies used in AI and HPC chips and advanced testing technology, it said Chip testing and packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (PTI, 力成科技) plans to increase this year’s capital expenditure by 50 percent to expand capacity to meet growing demand for advanced memorychips used in artificial intelligence (AI) products. The company proposed to spend NT$15 billion (US$460.94 million) to expand advanced capacity and equipment, compared with a budget of NT$10 billion it planned three months ago. “We are seeing a recovery in market demand as well as new business opportunities. We will spend heavily on advanced packaging” equipment, Powertech chief executive officer Boris Hsieh (謝永達) told investors on Tuesday. “We will focus on ramping
INFLATION WATCH: A rate hike in March would help keep inflation at 2.16 percent this year, although a weak currency and higher electricity rates are an issue, S&P said Moody’s Ratings and S&P Global Ratings have reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereign credit ratings at “As3” and “AA+” respectively with a stable outlook on the back of high income and wealth levels, a strong institutional framework and robust external positions. The affirmations came as Taiwan’s economy is gaining momentum after quarters of slowdown induced by stubborn global inflation and monetary tightening. Taiwan’s strong fiscal and external buffers have improved relative to peers as evidenced by recent shocks linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing US-China technology dispute, the two ratings firms said. “Taiwan stands as the epicenter of the global semiconductor supply chain, accounting