Science parks achieve record-high half-year turnover: NSTC

Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) Taiwan's three science parks achieved a record-high turnover of NT$2.16 trillion (US$50.20 billion) in the first half of 2024 driven in part by the global artificial intelligence boom, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) minister said Wednesday.

At a press conference in Taipei, Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) noted that the total turnover of the Hsinchu, Central Taiwan, and Southern Taiwan science parks for 2024 is expected to hit NT$4.5 trillion.

Separately, the Hsinchu Science Park's turnover hit NT$738.3 billion and that of the Central Taiwan Science Park logged NT$493.4 billion, while the Southern Taiwan Science Park led the three with its turnover of NT$927.3 billion in the first six months of this year, NTSTC data showed.

The integrated circuit (IC) sector turnover totaled NT$1.686 trillion, comprising a whopping 78 percent of the NT$2.16 trillion total, followed by the optoelectronics sector, which hit NT$208.65 billion, or 9.7 percent, the statistics showed.

"The IC sector has benefited from the AI boom and the need for highly efficient computing, while the optoelectronics growth was boosted by a need for panels at major international sports events this year," an NSTC official explained.

The Southern Taiwan Science Park reported the biggest gain in its turnover, a jump of 36.98 percent, compared to the same period last year. This was followed by a 10.46 percent rise reported by the science park in Hsinchu and 7.54 percent by the Central Taiwan Science Park.

The IC sector alone in the southern Taiwan park grew 40.02 percent compared to the first half of 2023 in terms of turnover, according to the NSTC.

"Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) manufactures its most advanced semiconductors in the southern science park.

"Furthermore, the revenue from TSMC's advanced process manufacturing accounts for around 60 percent of its total turnover," Cheng Hsiu-jung (鄭秀絨), director-general of the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau, said.

"I see only a bright future for the [revenue of the] southern park in the next six months," she added.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has 2nm advanced process fabs in Kaohsiung's Nanzi Park -- which forms part of the science park.

Furthermore, Cheng said archaeological work on a TSMC construction site in the southern park is expected to be complete by the end of October. The site will operate as a plant for CoWoS (chip on wafter on substrate), an advanced packaging technology.

Construction at the packaging plant in Chiayi was partly halted following the discovery of an archaeological ruin in June.

"TSMC said they expect to start [equipment] installation at the CoWoS plant in the third quarter of 2025," Cheng said.

Wu agreed with the projection that 2024 turnover would hit NT$4.5 trillion, noting that the semiconductor industry tends to perform better in the second half of the year.