TAIPEI: The total revenues of companies in Taiwan's three science parks fell by more than 38 percent in the first half of 2009 as a result of the global recession, Taiwan's "National Science Council" (NSC) reported yesterday.

Total turnover at the Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan, the Central Taiwan Science Park and the Southern Taiwan Science Park amounted to NT$631.4 billion ($19.13 billion) in the first six months of this year, a year-on-year decline of 38.2 percent, said NSC Vice Chairman Chen Li-chun at a news conference Wednesday.

The parks' total revenues bottomed out in January 2009 and then began a gradual rise, Chen said. The parks' revenues amounted to NT$377.2 billion in the second quarter of this year, representing an increase of 48.3 percent from the first quarter, he said.

"Judging from that trend, the revenues of the three science parks would continue to rise in July and August," said Chen

Between January and June this year, Chen said, 20 new investment projects worth NT$6.6 billion were approved for the three parks, while 20 companies increased their investment capital by a total of NT$8.1 billion.

In July alone, 12 newly approved companies became operational in the three parks, while 10 companies increased their investment capital, Chen noted.

As of the end of June, 689 companies had been approved to operate in the three parks - the backbone of Taiwan's industrial development - with 446 to be located in the Hsinchu Science Park, 151 in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, and 92 in the Central Taiwan Science Park, according to NSC officials.

As of June 30, the three parks had a workforce of 194,096 people, down 5,353 from the figure posted at the end of 2008, mainly as a result of the global economic crunch, NSC officials said.

As of August 1, the number of workers on unpaid leave at the three parks had dropped to 22,013, representing a sharp increase over the figure of 128,304 reported in January.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 08/21/2009 page2)