Spending on research and development (R&D) made up almost 4 percent of Taiwan’s GDP last year, the highest proportion in the country’s history, National Science and Technology Council data showed.
R&D spending nationwide totaled NT$898 billion (US$27.8 billion) last year, accounting for 3.96 percent of Taiwan’s GDP, compared with 3.77 percent in 2021, the data showed.
R&D expenditure rose 9.4 percent from a year earlier, the council said, adding that spending in technology development totaled NT$654 billion, the largest portion of R&D spending, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier.
Fundamental research accounted for NT$68.5 billion of total R&D spending last year, up 12.1 percent from a year earlier, while about NT$175.4 billion went to applied research, a rise of 6 percent from a year earlier, it said.
The private sector spent NT$772.9 billion on R&D in the year, up 11 percent from a year earlier, while the government spent NT$125.1 billion, an increase of 0.6 percent from the previous year, the data showed.
In 2018, private enterprises in Taiwan accounted for more than 80 percent of national R&D spending for the first time, with the ratio increasing every year since then and reaching 85.5 percent last year, serving as the major driver of R&D activity in the country, the council said.
The data showed that 82.5 percent of R&D spending by enterprises came from large firms, or those with a workforce of more than 500.
In terms of science parks supervised by the council, firms in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) in Taichung and the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) in Tainan accounted for 47.6 percent of all R&D spending by enterprises in Taiwan last year, up from 39.1 percent in 2018, the data showed.
The science parks house many semiconductor manufacturers, computer and peripherals suppliers, communications gadget developers, optoelectronics producers, precision machinery makers and biotech technology developers, with semiconductor firms spending the most on R&D and pushing up expenditure in the past few years, the council said.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS