The nation’s major science parks are to see revenue return to growth this year after dipping for the first time in eight years last year, thanks to an increase in semiconductor demand for artificial intelligence (AI), 5G and high-performance computing devices, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) said yesterday.
The three science parks — Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) and Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) — posted a 7.56 percent annual decline in revenue to NT$3.94 trillion (US$125.42 billion) last year, from NT$4.26 trillion in 2022, which was an all-time high, council data showed.
The council attributed the
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
decrease in revenue of the science parks to high raw material prices, sticky inflation, weak private consumption and stagnant corporate investment.
The semiconductor sector reported the weakest sales performance with an annual decline of 9 percent last year, as longer-than-expected inventory adjustments dampened demand, it said.
The semiconductor sector made up 77 percent of the science parks’ combined revenue.
The council is “cautiously optimistic” about the science parks’ prospects for this year as a recovering global economy is fueling demand for electronic products in general, and generative AI applications in particular, NSTC Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said yesterday.
The AI boom helped drive sales of 3-nanometer chips, boosting revenue in the Southern Taiwan Science Park by 6.88 percent to NT$1.585 trillion last year, a record high, the council said.
More than 80 percent of the park’s revenue came from semiconductor-related products, it said, adding that the park is the 3-nanometer chip manufacturing hub of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker.
To meet rising demand, the park is expanding from Tainan to areas in Chiayi County, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County.
The Hsinchu Science Park and the Central Taiwan Science Park saw revenue contract 11.98 percent and 19.78 percent annually last year to NT$1.42 trillion and NT$938.39 billion, respectively, the council’s data showed.
The Central Taiwan Science Park is also expanding in Taichung to accommodate more companies there, as TSMC is to build a new advanced factory to produce 1.4-nanometer chips in the park.
TSMC is expected to complete the construction of a new fab in the Hsinchu Science Park to make 2-nanometer chips at the end of this year.
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