Semiconductor sales by Taiwanese companies climbed 28 percent in the first quarter, a sign of robust strength in the chip industry. since many products are made or finished on the island.Taiwanese chip industry sales totaled 307 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$9.44 billion as of March 31, the end of the period being reported) in the first quarter, up from NT$240.7 billion during the same time last year, according to the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA).Chip testing and packaging sales rose the most, by more than a third, thanks to demand for handsets and other communications gear. Companies in this sector put the finishing touches on chips by testing them for defects and placing them inside protective materials.Taiwanese semiconductor design houses took second place, with 27 percent growth, mainly due to strong sales of chips used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Brisk sales of LCD monitors, laptops and LCD TVs during the first quarter continued to boost Taiwan’s LCD chip designers. Chip manufacturing companies, including contract chip makers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and dynamic RAM makers, accounted for the lion’s share of Taiwanese chip sales, but grew at a slightly slower pace than the rest of the island’s chip industry, 26 percent. Frugality helped the contract chip makers most during the first quarter, according to TSIA. Conservative investment in new production lines over the past few years has meant the contract chip makers are benefitting from the ability to keep prices high since factories can barely keep up with demand. Taiwan is home to several global leaders in the chip industry. TSMC is the world’s largest contract chip maker, producing chips for customers ranging from Texas Instruments to Nvidia. Advanced Semiconductor Engineering is the biggest global chip testing and packaging company, and MediaTek is the top designer of chips for optical drives, such as DVD players.-Dan Nystedt, IDG News ServiceFor related news coverage, read TSMC Advances to Top Chip Production Technology, Another Chip Maker Quits the DRAM Biz and LCD TV Prices to Drop Fast in Coming Years.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP What goes well with Viña Concha y Toro wines? Meat, fish, poultry, and SAP Viña Concha y Toro, a wine producer that distributes to more than 140 countries worldwide, paired its operation with the SAP Business Technology Platform to enhance its operation and product. By Tom Caldecott, SAP Contributor Dec 04, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by Azul How to maximize ROI by choosing the right Java partner for your organization Choosing the right Java provider is a critical decision that can have a significant impact on your organization’s success. By asking the right questions and considering the total cost of ownership, you can ensure that you choose the best Java p By Scott Sellers Dec 04, 2023 5 mins Application Management brandpost Sponsored by DataStax Ask yourself: How can genAI put your content to work? Generative AI applications can readily be built against the documents, emails, meeting transcripts, and other content that knowledge workers produce as a matter of course. By Bryan Kirschner Dec 04, 2023 5 mins Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence feature The CIO’s new role: Orchestrator-in-chief CIOs have unique insight into everything that happens in a company. Some are using that insight to take on a more strategic role. By Minda Zetlin Dec 04, 2023 12 mins CIO C-Suite Business IT Alignment Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe