Exports from the nation’s science parks climbed to a record high of NT$948.39 billion (US$30.38 billion) in the first half of this year, thanks to strong demand for 7-nanometer chips and transferred orders due to a US-China trade dispute, the Ministry of Science and Technology said yesterday.
That represented annual growth of 20.48 percent from NT$787.16 billion in the first six months of last year, ministry data showed.
The Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) produces 7-nanometer chips, reported the strongest year-on-year growth of 34 percent, with exports totaling NT$206.54 billion, beating the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) and the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) in Tainan.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
The Central Taiwan Science Park attributed the strong growth to increased shipments of 7-nanometer chips, as well as robust demand for chips used in high-performance computing equipment, mostly in data centers, smartphones, Internet-of-Things applications and gaming devices.
“Semiconductors made up the biggest portion, or about 67 percent, of exports from the Central Taiwan Science Park,” the park said in a statement. “Semiconductor exports increased 70.92 percent year-on-year in the first half, benefiting from rising demand for smart and emerging technologies.”
The growth was tempered by an annual decline of 9.38 percent in exports of LCD panels as prices slumped, the park said.
LCD panels are the second-largest export item from the park.
The Hsinchu Science Park, which remains the nation’s biggest manufacturing site for technology firms, posted NT$538.5 billion in exports in the first half of the year, 27 percent year-on-year growth.
It said the growth was due to production being relocated back home from China as manufacturers attempted to avoid US tariffs on Chinese goods, while transferred orders also helped lift exports.
However, exports from the Southern Taiwan Science Park fell by 2.56 percent year-on-year to NT$203.34 billion in the first six months, primarily due to a reduction in LCD panel exports.
Innolux Corp (群創) operates 14 panel fabs in Tainan and Miaoli.
Combined revenue at the three science parks fell 2.47 percent year-on-year to NT$1.22 trillion in the first six months, ministry data showed.
The ministry expects full-year combined revenue at the three science parks to grow about 1 percent from last year’s NT$2.6 trillion.
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