The production value of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is expected to increase 24.7 percent this year and surpass NT$4 trillion (US$143.8 billion) after growing 20.9 percent last year, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) said yesterday.
Speaking at the online annual meeting of the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (台灣半導體協會), Liu said that Taiwan remained competitive in the global semiconductor industry, despite the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years.
The nation continues to be the No. 1 supplier in the semiconductor manufacturing sector and the IC packaging and testing services sector, he said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan remains the second-largest supplier in the IC design sector, he added.
Liu said he hoped young talent would join the local semiconductor industry to help the industry further progress.
He urged the government to map out a long-term plan for land, water and electricity supply, as well as environmental protection, to facilitate corporate sustainability.
Trade tensions between the US and China are expected to continue to pose challenges for every industry in the world, including the semiconductor industry, Liu said.
The US is pushing for domestic semiconductor manufacturing, with Intel Corp planning to expand its investments in the country.
TSMC founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) on Tuesday said that it would be hard for the US to do this, as it does not have a comprehensive supply chain like Taiwan and its production costs are high.
Separately, cooperation between Taiwan and the US on the semiconductor front can be a basis for advancing a potential bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between the two sides, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said at an online energy forum yesterday.
“A BTA signed on the basis of semiconductor cooperation will have further significance,” Wang said. “It will also strengthen the rules of the game for industrial development, such as intellectual property rights and the protection of commercial secrets.”
Wang said the US-Taiwan cooperation goes beyond chips and there is potential for cooperation in the realms of electric vehicles, 5G and other areas.
Additional reporting by Angelica Oung
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