The production value of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry was more than NT$65 billion (US$2.29 billion) last year, as the sector expanded capacity to meet rising global demand for 5G, Internet of Things and high-performance computing applications, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday.
Taiwan is home to the world’s largest pure-play wafer foundry operator, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), and the largest IC packaging and testing service provider, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控).
Major foreign semiconductor companies, such as US-based DRAM maker Micron Technology Inc, also have production lines in Taiwan.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The ministry said that the industry generated NT$59.4 billion in production value in the first 11 months of last year, up 9.5 percent from a year earlier.
Output value for the whole of last year might be more than NT$65 billion, the ministry said, adding that this would be a record, after eight consecutive years of new highs.
In 2019, the industry’s output increased 5.8 percent to NT$60.3 billion from a year earlier, the ministry said.
China was the largest buyer of Taiwanese semiconductor equipment last year, accounting for 44 percent of exports, valued at US$1.5 billion, followed by Singapore (18 percent), the US (14.4 percent) and Malaysia (6.9 percent), Ministry of Finance data showed.
Taiwan last year imported US$23 billion of semiconductor equipment, down 1.1 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.
Japan was the largest supplier to Taiwan, accounting for 23.7 percent of equipment imports, followed by the US (22.2 percent) and the Netherlands (21.7 percent), it showed.
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