The nation’s three major science parks posted record combined revenue of NT$4.27 trillion (US$139.3 billion) for last year, up 14.75 percent year-on-year, the National Science and Technology Council said in a report yesterday.
The council attributed the robust performance to a recovery in consumption after experiencing three years of COVID-19 curbs, as well as steady sales increases driven by semiconductor demand for emerging applications such as artificial intelligence of things, 5G and high-performance computing.
The Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) saw revenue rise 1.59 percent annually to NT$1.61 trillion, and the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) posted revenue growth of 13 percent to NT$1.17 trillion, while that of the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) grew 35.48 percent to NT$1.48 trillion, the report said.
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Higher revenue growth at the Southern Taiwan Science Park came as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) began producing chips using the 5-nanometer process there, the council said.
The three parks exported a combined NT$2.79 trillion of goods last year, up 2.72 percent from a year earlier, while their combined imports surged 81.81 percent to NT$2.02 trillion, it said.
The high growth in imports was a result of companies continuing to build factories and expand production, while increasing purchases of precision machinery and equipment from abroad, the report said.
Overall, the three parks saw two-way trade rise 25.72 percent year-on-year to NT$4.81 trillion last year, also a new high, the report said.
The three parks last year also employed a record 323,113 people, up 7.09 percent from 2021, it said.
“Despite global turmoil triggered by the war in Ukraine, China’s [COVID-19] lockdowns and high inflation, the science parks continue to play a stabilizing role as semiconductor clusters, with companies from upstream to downstream performing strongly last year,” the council said in the report.
“In addition to contributing to the nation’s GDP growth, the science parks helped bolster Taiwan’s indispensable role in the global high-tech industry,” it added.
Of the parks’ six major industries, the integrated circuit industry placed first in terms of revenue, rising 22.62 percent year-on-year to NT$3.33 trillion, followed by the computer and peripherals industry with an increase of 30.2 percent to NT$213.01 billion, the report said.
Communications industry revenue increased 25.21 percent, precision machinery sales rose 10.45 percent and biotechnology sales edged up 0.84 percent, it said.
However, optoelectronics industry revenue fell 24.89 percent annually due to a relatively higher comparison base the previous year, as well as falling flat-panel prices and inventory adjustments amid cooling demand in the end market, the report said.
The council said it is anticipating a flat or mild increase in the parks’ revenue this year, despite growing headwinds created by persistent inflation, the war in Ukraine, a slowing global economy and escalating US-China tensions.
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