At the opening ceremony of the SEMICON Taiwan 2019 trade show on Wednesday, Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai pledged government efforts to promote the prosperity and sustainable development of Taiwan's semiconductor and related industries.
Semiconductors are Taiwan's leading tech industry, recording NT$2.6 trillion (US$86.9 billion) in industry output and employing some 230,000 people in 2018. As the largest driver of economic growth in Taiwan, semiconductors are also an important foundation for industrial innovation. The government will fully assist the integration of semiconductors with artificial intelligence (AI), working with all sectors to develop AI-powered chips and build the type of key technologies businesses need for intelligent applications, the vice premier said.
Over nearly four decades, Taiwan's semiconductor industry has developed an extensive supply chain covering the down-, mid- and upstream segments. The industry rests on a solid foundation where companies boast such competitive advantages as flexibility, quality and agility. Taiwan ranks first in the world for both wafer fabrication and packaging/testing, and second for integrated circuit design. To maintain and harness these advantages, the government will continue promoting innovative applications under the "five plus two" industries policy while elevating Taiwan's position along the global industrial value chain.
This year marks 24 years of SEMICON Taiwan, the country's most representative international semiconductor expo, with an influence that extends throughout the global semiconductor industry, said Vice Premier Chen. The event provides a platform for the global industry association Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International to combine the strengths of all sectors to maintain the development of Taiwan's tech ecosystem. SEMICON Taiwan is also a place for in-depth discussions of future development trends in the semiconductor industry and related areas of new growth. The vice premier said that the Executive Yuan looks forward to the extension of Taiwan's competitive advantages in the global semiconductor and high-technology fields, and a continued key role for the nation in the world's semiconductor industry.