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To: Yakov Lurye who wrote (8846)	11/10/1997 4:56:00 AM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 25960

Semiconductor fab construction continues in Taiwan................... japanbiztech.com Hsinchu Park Firms Performing Much Better November 10, 1997 (Hsinchu, TAIWAN) -- High-tech companies with facilities in the Hsinchu Science Park are performing well, which would appear to indicate an upswing in the global semiconductor industry. Facility utilization rates are improving and rates of production efficiency are increasing, and the benefits of these trends are being passed along to customers in the form of lower prices. According to the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park(HSIP) Administration, production and sales of companies located in the park are improving. Manufacturers of color image scanners saw their output value increase 46 percent in August, as compared with January. Their sales rose dramatically as well. The park's top product categories in terms of output value are foundry services, DRAM microchips, desktop PCs, notebook PCs, other electronic parts, IC packaging, color image scanners, SRAM chips, and multi-layer printed circuit boards. Hsinchu has emerged as the production hub of Taiwan-made peripherals. The 200-plus companies in the park registered an average gross pretax profit margin of 9.1 percent in the first half of 1997, as compared with Taiwan's average of 5.1 percent. Since January 1997, the park's microchip foundry companies have enjoyed steady growth in orders. About 20 microchip foundries are under construction in Hsinchu as well as the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park, in southern Taiwan. However, Hsinchu's producers of computers and peripheral equipment saw an increase in the overall ratio of OEM/ODM manufacturing, which means that fewer of their products carry their own brand names. More companies in Hsinchu are gearing up to make telecommunications products to tap emerging and expanding markets. Among the products now being made in Hsinchu are computer modems, devices for ISDN lines, microwave telecommunications gear, wireless local-loop products and broadband network gear. Many of the Hsinchu Park companies have formed strategic alliances with global leaders to secure technology niches as well as market share. For example, Alpha Telecom Inc. teamed up with Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. of Japan; Microelectronics Technology Inc. with Lucent Technologies; and Chunghwa Telecom Co. with NEC Corp. of Tokyo. Keyword: Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (HSIP) The industrial park was founded in 1981 to serve as a production base for forward-looking industries. The 200-plus companies in the 480-hectare park engage in various businesses including production of semiconductors, computer/peripherals, telecommunications equipment, optoelectronics, precision instruments and biotechnology research. About 55,000 people work at corporate facilities in Hsinchu, and combined corporate revenues in 1996 totaled about US$10 billion. An additional site of 100 hectares is being developed to accommodate more investment. Tainan Science-based Industrial Park, a similar industrial park, is under construction in southern Taiwan. (return to news) (Charlene Huang, Asia BizTech Correspondent)