The National Science and Technology Council yesterday proposed that next year’s technology budget be trimmed to NT$160.1 billion (US$5.44 billion) amid a significant reduction in the central government’s revenue as new allocation rules take effect.
The council at the beginning of this year had proposed an annual 13 percent hike to NT$180 billion for next year to fund the advancement of the semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) industries, as well as other strategic industries.
The revised budget still marks a new record, but would only be a 0.4 percent rise from this year’s NT$159.5 billion budget, the council said.
Photo courtesy of the National Science and Technology Council
The downward revision came as the central government expects a 28 percent reduction in annual revenue following revisions to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法).
When the new rules are applied next year, the central government’s spending power would fall by NT$375.3 billion annually, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics data showed.
Local governments would get a bigger share of the total revenue, the act says.
The council called on lawmakers and the Cabinet to better communicate with each other, and to boost 2027’s technology budget to NT$180 billion.
The technology budget is part of the government’s efforts to enhance Taiwan’s technology prowess and boost supply chain resilience, given growing competition and geopolitical risks.
The technology budget would be allocated mainly for the “five trusted industries”: semiconductors, AI, defense, security, surveillance and next-generation communications.
The agency proposed NT$21.19 billion for the Chips Team Taiwan program, accounting for the largest portion of the technology budget.
About NT$10.27 billion was earmarked for the government’s net zero emissions project and NT$4.39 billion to fund next-generation communications technology, the council said.
About NT$2.23 billion was earmarked for the project to foster a “new Silicon Valley” in Tainan and NT$2.29 billion would be allocated to support smart robot development, it said.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
RSS