This year’s combined annual revenue generated by the nation’s technology industrial parks supervised by the Ministry of Economic Affairs is expected to hit NT$500 billion (US$16.28 billion) for the first time, the ministry said yesterday.
The anticipated record revenue generated by the parks, formerly known as export processing zones, reflects growing semiconductor shipments on the back of strong demand for automotive, network communication and high-performance computing products, the ministry said in a statement.
Revenue posted by companies in the 10 parks in central and southern Taiwan — including 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) — totaled NT$440 billion in the first 10 months of this year, up 16 percent from the same period last year, data compiled by the Export Processing Zone Administration showed.
Photo: CNA
The 10 parks generated revenue of NT$465.6 billion for the whole of last year, the data showed.
Exports from the parks rose 25 percent from a year earlier to US$16.8 billion from January to October, while imports increased 19 percent to US$11.3 billion, the ministry said.
Exports for the whole of this year are forecast to reach US$19 billion, while imports are to hit US$12 billion, up from US$16.68 billion and US$11.73 billion respectively last year, despite several unfavorable factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and interest rate hikes, it said.
The results come after high-tech firms such as contract electronics maker Wistron Corp (緯創), chip testing and packaging company Siliconware Precision Industries Co (矽品精密), electronic components supplier Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) and silicon wafer recycler Phoenix Silicon International Corp (昇陽半導體) poured tens of billions of dollars into new investments at the parks, the ministry said.
In addition to the estimated record revenue, exports and imports, the number of companies operating at the parks is predicted to be 750 this year, up from 715 last year, with about 90,000 people employed, compared with 86,000 last year, the ministry said, adding that the number of companies and employees would be records.
“Despite headwinds this year, the growth performance at the parks is outstanding,” Export Processing Zone Administration Director-General Yang Po-keng (楊伯耕) said in the statement. “So far, revenue, exports, imports as well as numbers of companies and employees have all hit record highs.”
In the first 10 months, 742 companies operated at the parks, employing a combined 89,266 people, the data showed.
The number of employees has reached a 35-year high and the likely total of 90,000 this year would be a return to the level in the 1970s before many traditional-sector-based firms relocated abroad, Yang said.
“However, unlike the parks that mainly provided labor-intensive jobs in the early days, the parks today provide mostly high-tech jobs, which have made great contributions to employment and wage growth in central and southern Taiwan,” Yang said.
Next year, the parks’ revenue would continue to grow, as the semiconductor industry is expected to stabilize in the second half and resume growth in 2024, Yang said.
To cope with development, the Export Processing Zone Administration is developing new parks, continues to provide assistance to firms and works to enhance the competitiveness of the parks, he said.
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