Record revenue at 3 IASP member science parks

The three largest science parks on the island of Taiwan, all members of IASP, set revenue records last year, with a total of about NT$3.5 trillion (US$126.4 billion), a recent report recently announced.

For the first 10 months of last year, the biggest industries by revenue at the three parks — the Hsinchu Science Park, the Central Taiwan Science Park and the Southern Taiwan Science Park— were semiconductors, optoelectronics, and computers and computer accessories.

Revenue in the semiconductor industry was up 23.58 percent from the same period in 2020, a strong performance attributed to growing demand for high-end chips used in emerging applications such as 5G, AI and IoT. Optoelectronics sales also rose thanks to strong demand from pandemic-induced stay-at-home economy and soaring prices of flat-panel displays, and the computer and computer accessories sector also performed well.

A new science park is also being developed in Kaohsiung’s Ciaotou District, where several tech companies have already committed to building manufacturing facilities. In addition to the semiconductor and electric vehicle industries, the new park will focus on the precision healthcare, smart machines and aerospace industries.

To form a new “Southern Taiwan Technology Corridor,” plans have also been approved to set up an 88-hectare science park in Chiayi County and another 73.83-hectare park in Pingtung County.