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.
Handset camera lens maker Largan Precision Co (大立光) on Sunday reported a 6.71 percent year-on-year decline in revenue for the third quarter, despite revenue last month hitting the highest level in 11 months. Third-quarter revenue was NT$17.68 billion (US$581.2 million), compared with NT$18.95 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The figure was in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$17.9 billion, but missed the market consensus estimate of NT$18.97 billion. The third-quarter revenue was a 51.44 percent increase from NT$11.67 billion in the second quarter, as the quarter is usually the peak
Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves hit a record high at the end of last month, surpassing the US$600 billion mark for the first time, the central bank said yesterday. Last month, the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose US$5.51 billion from a month earlier to reach US$602.94 billion due to an increase in returns from the central bank’s portfolio management, the movement of other foreign currencies in the portfolio against the US dollar and the bank’s efforts to smooth the volatility of the New Taiwan dollar. Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民)said a rate cut cycle launched by the US Federal Reserve
The US government on Wednesday sanctioned more than two dozen companies in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, including offshoots of a US chip firm, accusing the businesses of providing illicit support to Iran’s military or proxies. The US Department of Commerce included two subsidiaries of US-based chip distributor Arrow Electronics Inc (艾睿電子) on its so-called entity list published on the federal register for facilitating purchases by Iran’s proxies of US tech. Arrow spokesman John Hourigan said that the subsidiaries have been operating in full compliance with US export control regulations and his company is discussing with the US Bureau of
Pegatron Corp (和碩), a key assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhones, on Thursday reported a 12.3 percent year-on-year decline in revenue for last quarter to NT$257.86 billion (US$8.44 billion), but it expects revenue to improve in the second half on traditional holiday demand. The fourth quarter is usually the peak season for its communications products, a company official said on condition of anonymity. As Apple released its new iPhone 17 series early last month, sales in the communications segment rose sequentially last month, the official said. Shipments to Apple have been stable and in line with earlier expectations, they said. Pegatron shipped 2.4 million notebook
RSS