The three major science parks are likely to see their revenue grow to surpass NT$4 trillion (US$132.3 billion) this year, unfazed by a recession in the global technology industry, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday.
Revenue from companies with operations at the 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) was estimated to have risen 10 percent year-on-year to a historical high of NT$4 trillion last year, Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said.
There is a good chance of further growth in revenue this year, due to resilient demand for high-end semiconductors, he said, adding that the chances of a recession look slim.
Photo: CNA
That goes against a downtrend affecting the world’s major technology companies, he added.
“Semiconductor supply remains the focus of the world. I believe Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has the cutting-edge technologies to meet that demand,” Wu said. “It is still too early to make a revenue forecast. It’s just February, but I think there is a good chance [to see growth].”
Micron Technology Inc has made the case.
The US memorychip maker in December last year announced a plan to cut 10 percent of its headcount this year, to suspend the distribution of bonuses and cut executive pay due to flagging demand for its chips.
Micron yesterday confirmed that it is reducing global headcount through a combination of voluntary attrition, workforce reductions and reduced external hiring.
“Micron has now started meeting with some of the employees affected by Micron’s plans to reduce its workforce in the face of the severe downturn that is affecting the entire industry,” the company said in a statement.
Micron did not say how many people it aims to lay off, but the council expects less than 10 percent of Micron’s local employees to be affected, Wu said.
The science parks have not yet received notification of large-scale layoff plans, the council said.
Micron has about 10,000 local employees.
Despite the world technology industry entering period of correction, local corporate executives have been calling for more land to be made available to build new production lines to meet customers’ requests for more diversified and resilient supply-chain management, given escalating geopolitical tensions.
The Cabinet has approved seven new expansion projects in the three science parks and allocated 693 hectares of land in Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, Chiayi, Kaohsiung and Pingtung, the council said.
Those new expansion plans would add NT$1.2 trillion in new revenue and create about 30,000 jobs, it said.
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
RSS