Intel Corp. announced Aug. 25 that it will establish an Innovation Center in Taiwan, the only such facility in the Asia-Pacific region by the world's largest chipmaker.
The Innovation Center will focus on converging computing and communications technologies, according to the Taiwan-based China Post. The facility will work with the local information technology (IT) industry and universities to create new standards and new building blocks, CEO Craig Barrett said. According to Mr. Barrett, Intel has already hired 18 to 20 researchers to work at the center which will eventually have a staff of 50 to 60 people.
The Innovation Center adds to a number of similar R&D facilities in Taiwan set up by multinational IT firms such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft. Lin Ferng-ching, president of Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry, said that the information sector has grown considerably in the past several years. In 1997, the production value of the information industry accounted for 16.3 percent of the Taiwan's gross national product (GNP). By 2002, the ratio had risen to 30.3 percent. It is estimated that the production value of the information sector will represent 33 percent of Taiwan's GNP this year.
According to the Central News Agency, Ger Jy-gang, deputy director of the Technology Transfer Service Center under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said that while Taiwan's electronics firms have gained a strong foothold in the international market as reputable original equipment manufacturers, the Taiwan government seeks to attract more international corporations to set up R&D centers in Taiwan.
