Annual sales generated by a group of technology industrial parks in central and southern Taiwan supervised by the Ministry of Economic Affairs reached a new high last year on the back of strong global demand for high-tech gadgets, the ministry said on Monday.
Data compiled by the Export Processing Zone Administration showed that revenue posted by firms in the parks in Taichung, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County totaled NT$465.6 billion (US$16,69 billion), up 16 percent from 2020.
It was the first time that firms operating in the parks had combined sales of more than NT$450 billion, exports agency said.
Exports from the parks rose 16.4 percent from a year earlier to US$16.68 billion, while imports increased 32.4 percent to US$11.73 billion, it said.
The parks are Taichung Software Park (台中軟體園區), Tanzi Technology Industrial Park (潭子科技產業園區) in Taichung, Kaohsiung Software Park (高雄軟體園區), Nanzih Technology Industrial Park (楠梓科技產業園區) in Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung Chenggong Logistics Park (高雄成功物流園區), Cianjhen Technology Industrial Park (前鎮科技產業園區) in Kaohsiung and Pingtung Technology Industrial Park (屏東科技產業園區).
Export Processing Zone Administration Director-General Yang Po-keng (楊伯耕) said that Taiwan’s high-tech industry benefited from solid demand for semiconductors, pushing up shipments from the parks last year.
In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic created more business for e-commerce and industrial information communications firms, giving their revenue an additional boost, Yang said.
In addition to record sales, the number of firms operating at the parks increased to 715 last year, topping 700 for the first time, with more than 86,000 people employed at them, the most in two decades, data from the exports agency showed.
The parks would continue to grow, as they have attracted more investment in a wide range of areas, including 5G applications, the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), and automotive electronics, he said.
The agency has provided assistance to many companies seeking technology upgrades to smart production by taking advantage of 5G and (AI-IoT know-how, which is expected to create about NT$400 million in business opportunities, he said.
Several parks, including Kaohsiung Software Park, Pingtung Technology Industrial Park and Nanzih Technology Industrial Park, would continue to expand and thereby boost output, he said.
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