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TSMC leads Taiwan's R&D spending in H1 2013

Contract chipmaker spends US$753 million on research and development in the first half of this year on high-end chips and wafers through advanced process technologies, extending its lead held over past five years.
Written by Ellyne Phneah, Contributor
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TSMC spent US$753 million on R&D in the first six months this year, a 17.45 percent increase from the same period last year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has for the fifth year in a row led Taiwanese listed firms in terms of research and development (R&D) spending.

According to data released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Monday, the chipmaker spent NT$22.6 billion (US$753 million) for R&D in the first six months this year, a 17.45 percent rise from the same period last year, The Taipei Times reported.

TSMC had aimed to meet the robust demand for high-end chips and wafers through advanced process technologies, the MOEA noted in a statement.

The Taiwanese contract chipmaker had also led listed companies in R&D spending since 2008 when the ministry started tracking companies' efforts to upgrade their production technologies every half a year.

Apple device manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry had came in second with NT$20.3 billion (US$677 million) in R&D spending, an increase of 1.6 percent from a year ago. MediaTek had taken third place with NT$12 billion (US$400 million), an increase of 17.02 percent year-on-year, followed by Innolux Corporation with NT$6.7 billion (US$223 million) and HTC at NT$6.6 billion (US$220 million).

In total, the top 300 companies in Taiwan reported NT$230.6 billion (US$7.69 billion) in R&D investment in the first six months this year, 5.7 percent higher than the NT$218.1 billion (US$7.27 billion) spent in the same period last year.

The increased R&D spending was driven largely by companies in the ICT industry, with companies in the semiconductor sector contributing the most with NT$78.1 billion (US$2.6 billion) spent, followed by the NT$51.4 billion (US$1.71 billion) by manufacturers of computers and peripheral products.

In 2012, Taiwanese companies had spent a total of NT$329.5 billion (US$10.99 billion) on R&D activities, led by TSMC with a spending of NT$38.8 billion (US$1.4 billion) to continue to dominate R&D expenditure.

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