The manufacturing sector's fixed assets grew at their fastest quarterly rate in 11 years in the third quarter, helped by semiconductor vendors' aggressive capacity expansion, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
The fixed assets owned by manufacturers in Taiwan increased by about NT$496 billion in the July-September period, up 43.4 percent from a year earlier and also up 15.6 percent from a quarter earlier, data compiled by the MOEA's Department of Statistics showed.
The year-on-year growth was the highest since the third quarter of 2010, when it hit 45.1 percent.
High-tech manufacturers, and especially semiconductor makers, continued to invest heavily in fixed assets such as factories and equipment at a time of booming demand for tech gadgets, the MOEA said.
Electronics component manufacturers, including semiconductor makers, increased their fixed assets by NT$347.2 billion in the third quarter, representing a 59.2 percent year-on-year increase and a 21.8 percent sequential rise, MOEA data showed.
Old-economy producers, such as chemical raw material suppliers and machinery makers also increased their investment to further account for the third quarter rise in fixed assets.
According to the MOEA, fixed assets owned by the manufacturing sector include machinery and other production equipment, factories and transportation equipment but does not include land purchases.
In the third quarter, investments in machinery and related items increased by NT$407 billion, accounting for 82.1 percent of the newly added fixed assets, the MOEA said.
The MOEA said fixed assets are expected to continue to grow in the fourth quarter as the semiconductor sector further expands capacity and more Taiwanese companies operating overseas invest at home.
Meanwhile, the MOEA said revenue posted by the local manufacturing sector in the third quarter hit a new high of NT$8.4 trillion, up 19.0 percent from a year earlier and up 6.4 percent from a quarter earlier.
The electronics industry benefited from the unveiling of new devices by major brands as well as higher sales by tech gadget suppliers related to emerging technologies such as 5G applications, high performance computing devices and automotive electronics, the MOEA said.
The MOEA said petrochemical, steel, machinery and auto makers also saw their sales grow at double-digit paces during the three-month period.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel