Taiwan shipbuilding industry revenue rises over 25 percent

2020/03/18

Revenue brought in by Taiwan’s shipbuilding industry rose 25.2 percent to NT$27.1 billion (US$896.6 million) in 2019, according to data released March 16 by the Department of Statistics under the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
 
 Container ships, luxury yachts and fishing vessels comprised 73 percent, 23.7 percent and 3.3 percent of earnings, respectively, the agency said.
 
 The impressive rise in revenue is in part due to government initiatives such as the indigenous submarine program and offshore wind power policy, the latter of which requires ocean vessels to undertake construction and maintenance.
 
 An uptick in overseas orders of luxury yachts also helped drive growth, bringing in US$230 million and accounting for 57 percent of the year’s total ship exports. Main destination countries included Australia, Italy, Japan and the U.S., the agency added.
 
 The 2019 Global Order Book published by U.K.-based Boat International ranked Taiwan as the sixth largest shipbuilding nation in the world and first in Asia for the construction of superyachts in terms of total hull length, reaching a combined 1,852 meters.
 
 According to a 2018 survey conducted by the MOEA, Taiwan has 188 shipbuilding factories employing around 7,400 personnel, with nearly 60 percent of the industry based in the southern city of Kaohsiung.
 
 The indigenous submarine program and offshore wind power policy are key planks in the government’s five-plus-two innovative industries initiative targeting the high-growth sectors of biotechnology, green energy, national defense, smart machinery and Internet of Things, as well as the circular economy and a new paradigm for agricultural development.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)