Combined sales across the computer and information technology (IT) service sector last quarter hit a record of NT$90.8 billion (US$3.04 billion), increasing 7.3 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
“The COVID-19 pandemic played an important role in driving market demand for the computer and IT service sector last quarter, which was especially visible within the computer programming industry,” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
The computer programming industry last quarter posted a 10.1 percent increase in sales to NT$69.2 billion thanks to heavy demand for software, which was tied to continuous growth in the production and export of servers, and network and communication devices, Wang said.
“The pandemic has forced many people to work from home, which has propelled companies to install network infrastructure or re-enforce existing ones through cybersecurity systems,” she said, adding that steady deployment of 5G technologies has also contributed to the industry’s growth.
In the first quarter, exports of electronics, and networking and communication devices increased 20 percent and 7.9 percent respectively year-on-year, the ministry said, citing data from the Bureau of Foreign Trade.
Although the spread of COVID-19 has benefited the computer and IT service sector, it adversely affected the technical support and professional service sector, which posted its steepest decline in more than 10 years.
Sales in the sector decreased 5 percent year-on-year to NT$69.1 billion amid waning market demand, the ministry said.
“It was bound to suffer due to its very nature, as companies have either pushed back plans or canceled activities,” Wang said.
In particular, the photography industry was the worst hit, with its sales falling 12.7 percent year-on-year to NT$1.27 billion, she said.
The advertising and market research industry, which contributed to about 50 percent of the technical support and professional service sector’s overall revenue, also faced a heavy setback, with its sales contracting 8.2 percent to NT$32.1 billion, ministry data showed.
Within the same sector, the management and consulting industry posted a 1.1 percent increase in sales to NT$18.3 billion due to growing corporate interest in renewable energies, Wang said.
Rental sector sales rose 7.5 percent year-on-year to NT$35.3 billion as the transportation rental industry posted a 16.2 percent increase in sales to NT$24.1 billion, data showed.
Apart from robust vehicle rentals, growing secondhand auto sales also contributed to the increase, Wang said.
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