July 30, 2001

Taiwan's opto-electronic industry is expected to take the lead in the development of high density DVD technology, a report from the Opto-Electronics and Systems Laboratories, a sub-division of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) said.

Taiwan's opto-electronics industry is projected to reach a production value of close to 45 billion Taiwan Dollars this year, up 31% compared with last year. The island's opto-electronics output has been posting a two-digit growth rate since it reached the 100 billion mark in 1996, and manufacturers said the launch of next-generation CD and DVD players and optical storage devices would further spur the industry to move forward.

In addition to achieving self-sufficiency in the supply of key components, the opto-electronics lab is involved in drafting the specifications of advanced opto-electronic products such as HD DVD so that Taiwan can obtain its own intellectual property and become an exporter of opto-electronics intellectual property.

The total production value of Taiwan's opto-electronics industry this year is expected to reach the equivalent of US$13.8 billion with an annual growth of 31%, according to statistics compiled by CETRA ( China External Trade Development Council ) . Since 1995, the opto-electronics industry has averaged annual growth rates of 20% to 3%. Production is forecasted to reach 502 billion Taiwan Dollars in 2002 and 560 billion in 2003 (figures rounded for convenience) .

Experts say that Taiwan's opto-electronics industry has ample room to grow because the total output only accounted for about 7% of the world' total production of US$209.6 billion last year.

Taiwan already has become the world leader in CD-R and CD-ROM drives production. Taiwan's market share of gthe world's CD-R production is 80%, and that CD-ROM drives is 48%. Taiwan's production of optical storage devices hit NT$ 142 billion last year, or 41% of the total production of t he opto-electronics industry.
These devices include CD-R, CD-ROM, CD-RW and DVD players.

However, to compete for an even larger share of the worldwide market, the report suggested that the industry should further direct its attentions to enhance its core technologies and key components, speed up industrial upgrades, improve technological levels and provide added value to its products.