Taiwan has $57.9 billion trade surplus for 2017 | Xinhua

[Martian2]

Taiwan's economy keeps humming along. The Taiwanese trade surplus for 2017 was a record $57.88 billion.

Taiwan's economic accomplishment is impressive in light of the fact that the entire Taiwanese computer notebook industry was moved onto mainland China. Despite some industrial hollowing-out, Taiwan is doing just fine economically.

To give you a sense of comparison, Vietnam had a $2.7 billion trade surplus for 2017. Vietnam is NOT the next Taiwan. The economic and technological gaps are too vast.

Vietnam’s trade surplus hits US$2.7 billion in 2017 | VietnamNet (January 2, 2018)
"Vietnam maintained a trade surplus of about US$2.7 billion this year, the same figure as 2016, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO)."
----------

Taiwan's exports surge in 2017 on recovering global economy | Xinhua (January 8, 2018)

"Taiwan's trade surplus reached 57.88 billion dollars in 2017, up 8.13 billion dollars from 2016, the island's finance authority said Monday." (second paragraph)

 

[Martian2]

I will identify five interesting Taiwanese high-tech accomplishments.

1. Taiwan TSMC's leading-edge 7nm logic-chip semiconductor fabrication technology will most likely debut in Apple's A12 processor for the new iPhone in the second half of 2018.

TSMC is Reportedly Exclusive Supplier of A12 Processors in 2018 iPhones | MacRumors (January 4, 2018)
"Apple has reportedly selected Taiwanese manufacturing company TSMC to remain its exclusive supplier of so-called 'A12' processors for a trio of new iPhone models expected to launch in the second half of 2018, according to DigiTimes."

2. Taiwan's MediaTek built the world's first true octa-core processor.

MediaTek announces first true octa-core processor | GSM Arena (July 28, 2013)
"MediaTek has officially announced the world's first true octa-core processor. The latest SoCs allows all the eight cores to run simultaneously, unlike the Samsung implementation, which can activate up to half of its CPU cores at once. The true octa-core processors offer you enhanced performance, power efficiency and improved user experience."

3. Taiwan built a submicron precision lathe machine tool after five years of research.

Submicron lathe breakthrough made | Taipei Times (December 29, 2012)
"A mechanical engineering associate professor at the National Chin Yi University of Technology recently made a breakthrough in the country’s machine tool industry by manufacturing the first Taiwan-made hydrostatic guideway for a submicron-precision lathe."

4. Taiwan's ITRI designed its own "advanced CNC controllers," which is the software code that operates a CNC machine tool.

Advanced Controller Technology for Machine Tools | Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
"In order to allow machine tools made by Taiwanese companies to be used for aerospace machinery, ITRI has been developing advanced CNC controllers for simultaneous 5-axis milling machines and a lathe-milling hybrid-turning center. The advanced CNC controllers include important features like tool center point control, mechanical tolerance compensation, and multi-systems with multi-axis control, offering solutions for machine manufacturers. The advanced CNC controllers can control not only machine tools but also multi-axis control systems. Industrial robots using advanced CNC controllers can automatically process a workpiece for inspection, loading, and unloading systems."

5. Taiwan built its own AESA radar.

Taiwan reveals indigenous AESA radar | Alert 5

----------

AESA T/R module | National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST)

"The NCSIST T/R module is designed for the active phased array radar application. It utilizes the state-of-the-art 15W GaAs MMIC power amplifier to maximize the power output of T/R module to 12W. A circulator is used to provide the duplexer function with limiter and SPDT switch to protect the receiver from reflected power. The noise figure of the Low noise amplifier (LNA) is less than 1.2dB."

Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) AESA Transmit/Receive module

 

[Han Patriot]

If PRC and ROC work together, the Chinese nation would be invincible.

 

[Martian2]

You're wondering: What is Taiwan exporting to accumulate a large trade surplus?

Computer servers are part of the answer.

When we look at computer servers, Taiwan had sales of about $20 billion US dollars in 2017.

Total revenues for Taiwanese computer server manufacturers were about NT$600 billion New Taiwan Dollars. The exchange rate is about 30 New Taiwan Dollars for one US Dollar. Thus, NT$600 billion in revenue is equivalent to $20 billion US dollars.
----------

Taiwan server shipment forecast and industry analysis, 2017 | DigiTimes (May 31, 2017)

 

[Martian2]

At a fundamental level, Taiwan's enormous $57.9 billion annual trade surplus can be explained by patented technologies.

Taiwan was the sixth-largest recipient in the world of USPTO patents.

China Becomes One of the Top 5 U.S. Patent Recipients for the First Time | Bloomberg (January 9, 2018)
"Chinese inventors received 11,241 U.S. patents last year, a 28 percent increase over the same period in 2016, according to a report released Tuesday by IFI Claims Patent Services, a unit of Fairview Research LLC. That propels [China] into the top five recipients for the first time, behind the U.S., Japan, Korea and Germany, but ahead of Taiwan."

Taiwan has a broad array of technology companies involved in semiconductors, electronics, photovoltaics, specialty chemicals, CNC machine tools, and other technologies (such as Largan in camera lens modules for smartphones).

However, the one thing all of the Taiwanese companies have in common is patented technology. For example, Epistar has 1,000 LED patents.

Epistar’s Patent Portfolio Reaches New Milestone of 1,000 Granted Patents | Epistar (December 5, 2012)
"Hsinchu, Taiwan, Dec. 5, 2012 – As a world-leading company in LED chip technology, Epistar Corporation was granted its 1000th patent recently. This number will continue to grow as there are about another 1,000 applications pending worldwide. Since its establishment in 1996, Epistar has firmly believed that technology innovation is the foundation for being a leader in the industry, and that acquisition and strategic deployment of intellectual property rights, such as patents, is a key to success."

By owning thousands of annual USPTO patents and charging higher prices, Taiwan has grown rich in exporting patented technologies.

The lesson for other countries is that innovation is the key. Without numerous indigenous USPTO-granted patents and technological products, it will be very difficult to become a rich country.
----------

Updated list of Taiwan's Billion-dollar Tech Companies (October 13, 2017)

To qualify for this list, a Taiwanese company must have at least US$1 billion in sales. Also, this is a technology list. I'm excluding banks, insurance companies, steel, property, construction, etc.

I probably missed a few tech companies. I think I skipped the entire photovoltaic sector and machine tool industry.

This list is only meant to provide an idea of the depth of Taiwan's tech industry. I think I discriminated against Taiwan's entire bicycle industry. Taiwan holds a lot of the patents for expensive mountain bikes.

Hon Hai - $127 billion in sales
Pegatron - $32.2 billion
Formosa Petrochemical - $31.4 billion
Quanta Computer - $29.7 billion
TSMC - $25 billion
Compal Electronics - $23.1 billion
Wistron - $22 billion
WPG - $18 billion (WPG August revenues reach 8-month high | DigiTimes)
Asustek Computer - $15.5 billion
Formosa Chemicals - $14.5 billion
Innolux - $14.2 billion
AU Optronics - $14 billion
Inventec - $13.3 billion
Acer - $12.1 billion
Lite-On Group - $10.93-12.5 billion
Synnex Technology International Corp. - $10.36 billion
Nan Ya Plastics - $10.2 billion
Chungwha Telecom - $7.7 billion
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) - $7.4 billion
Formosa Plastics - $7.3 billion
MediaTek - $7.2 billion
HTC - $6.75 billion
Delta Electronics - $5.8 billion
Chi Mei Corporation - $5.61 billion
TPK Holding Co., Ltd. - $4.97 billion
UMC - $4.3 billion
Tatung Co. Ltd. - $3.779 billion
Qisda Corp. - $3.73 billion
Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co. Ltd. - $3.32 billion
Zhen Ding Technology (ZDT) - $2.8 billion (Zhen Ding to see profits up 450% on quarter in 3Q16, says paper | DigiTimes)
Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd. (SPIL) - $2.67 billion
Chicony Electronics - $2.56 billion (Chicony revenues hit 9-month high in August | DigiTimes)
Coretronic - $2.5 billion (CORETRONIC CORPORATION | Hoovers)
Micro-Star International (MSI) - $2.465 billion
Catcher Technology - $2.45 billion (#51 Catcher Technology | Forbes)
Zhen Ding Technology - $2.14 billion
General Interface Solution (GIS) - $2 billion (TPK, GIS see significant sequential growth in August revenues | DigiTimes)
Inotera Memories - $2 billion
Primax Electronics - $2 billion (Primax Electronics expects 2H16 revenue growth from audio products, CCMs | DigiTimes)
Radiant Opto Electronics Corp - $1.88 billion (Radiant Opto Electronics Corp | Corporate Information)
Unimicron - $1.87 billion
Gigabyte Technology - $1.7 billion
Powertech Technology - $1.6 billion (PTI posts record August revenues | DigiTimes)
HannStar Board Corp. - $1.52 billion
Tripod - $1.5 billion (Tripod August revenues rise, Chin-Poon down | DigiTimes)
Largan Precision - $1.4 billion
Nanya Technology Corporation - $1.4 billion
Powerchip - $1.33 billion
Novatek - $1.32 billion
MiTAC - $1.26 billion
Casetek - $1.2 billion (Casetek revenues increase 18.7% on year in September | DigiTimes)
SerComm Corp. (中磊电子) - $1.2 billion (SerComm revenues stay flat in September | DigiTimes)
Winbond Electronics Corp. - $1.19 billion
Advantech - $1.12 billion
Phison Electronics - $1.12 billion (Phison reports record 2015 revenues | DigiTimes)
Everlight - $1.1 billion
A-Data Technology Co Ltd. - $1.05 billion
Sino-American Silicon Products Inc - $1.04 billion (Sino-American Silicon Products Inc | Corporate Information)
Accton Technology - $1 billion (Accton Technology sees increased revenues for August | DigiTimes)
Compeq - $1 billion (Compeq to enjoy profit growth in 3Q15 | DigiTimes)
Elitegroup Computer Systems Co. (ECS) - $1 billion
D-Link - $0.96 billion
Realtek - $0.95 billion
Epistar - $0.94 billion
TSMT - $0.9 billion (TSMT reports March revenues decrease | DigiTimes)
Himax Technologies - $0.84 billion
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation (VIS) - $0.78 billion

 

[Viet]

Taiwan's economy keeps humming along. The Taiwanese trade surplus for 2017 was a record $57.88 billion.

Taiwan's economic accomplishment is impressive in light of the fact that the entire Taiwanese computer notebook industry was moved onto mainland China. Despite some industrial hollowing-out, Taiwan is doing just fine economically.

To give you a sense of comparison, Vietnam had a $2.7 billion trade surplus for 2017. Vietnam is NOT the next Taiwan. The economic and technological gaps are too vast.

Vietnam’s trade surplus hits US$2.7 billion in 2017 | VietnamNet (January 2, 2018)
"Vietnam maintained a trade surplus of about US$2.7 billion this year, the same figure as 2016, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO)."
----------

Taiwan's exports surge in 2017 on recovering global economy | Xinhua (January 8, 2018)

"Taiwan's trade surplus reached 57.88 billion dollars in 2017, up 8.13 billion dollars from 2016, the island's finance authority said Monday." (second paragraph)

First, nothing is static in life unless you lie 2m under the earth surface in cementery. Second, whether VN is the second TW or not, is not up to you to decide. It is not nice if you think so but it is irrelevant. If TW and VN roles are reversed with all the wars we suffered you today still ride bicycle.

Last, VN surplus is close to $3 billion last year, it is expected to rise the years to come. Ok 3 billion USD is not much but if one considers the huge deficit we had not long ago. More importantly: VN’s rising external trades. Not long ago there were just few millions in exports, now over $200 billion.

You should slowly learn China and Taiwan are not the only countries on the planet. Such thinking will lead to you to nowhere in the long run. Sometimes the rise and fall of a nation is as close as the gap between genius and stupidity.

 

[Martian2]

First, nothing is static in life unless you lie 2m under the earth surface in cementery. Second, whether VN is the second TW or not, is not up to you to decide. It is not nice if you think so but it is irrelevant. If TW and VN roles are reversed with all the wars we suffered you today still ride bicycle.

Last, VN surplus is close to $3 billion last year, it is expected to rise the years to come. Ok 3 billion USD is not much but if one considers the huge deficit we had not long ago. More importantly: VN’s rising external trades. Not long ago there were just few millions in exports, now over $200 billion.

You should slowly learn China and Taiwan are not the only countries on the planet. Such thinking will lead to you to nowhere in the long run. Sometimes the rise and fall of a nation is as close as the gap between genius and stupidity.

You are wrong.

Vietnam is following Mexico's development path.

Mexico has maquiladora ("screwdriver" or assembly) plants along the US border for decades. Mexico has no technology company. Neither does Vietnam. Decades into the future, Vietnam will still be in the same position as Mexico today. No indigenous technology company. Why?

The answer is very simple. Vietnam and Mexico do NOT INNOVATE. Both Vietnam and Mexico have negligible USPTO patents. Without indigenous patented technology, Vietnam and Mexico will remain as cheap labor for foreign assembly plants.

Here is the problem. Mexico is an annual recipient of 203 USPTO patents. Vietnam is an annual recipient of 5 USPTO patents. How are you going to industrialize with negligible USPTO patents? The answer is: YOU CAN'T.

Mainland China and Taiwan each receive over 10,000 USPTO patents per year.
----------

The four largest exporters in the world (e.g. #1 China by using Greater China patents, #2 U.S., #3 Germany, and #4 Japan) are among the five largest USPTO (ie. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) patent holders.

Greater China comprises mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

PATENT COUNTS BY ORIGIN AND TYPE, CY 2015

Patents granted by the United States for the year 2015.

1. U.S. 155,982 patents
2. Japan 54,422
(Greater China 22,372)
3. South Korea 20,201
4. Germany 17,752
5. Taiwan 12,575
6. China 9,004
7. Canada 7,492
8. U.K. 7,167
9. France 7,026
10. Israel 3,804
11. India 3,415
12. Italy 3,090
...
Singapore 1,048
Hong Kong 793 (Patent office counts Hong Kong as a separate entity)
Russian Federation 483
Brazil 381
Malaysia 267

These countries are sometimes mentioned by the media as the "next China":

Poland 223
Mexico 203
South Africa 199
Turkey 136
Thailand 116
Chile 79
Greece 77
Argentina 72
Ukraine 64
Philippines 45
Egypt 30
Indonesia 21
Vietnam 5

 

[AndrewJin]

You are wrong.

Vietnam is following Mexico's development path.

Mexico has maquiladora ("screwdriver" or assembly) plants along the US border for decades. Mexico has no technology company. Neither does Vietnam. Decades into the future, Vietnam will still be in the same position as Mexico today. No Vietnamese technology company. Why?

The answer is very simple. Vietnam and Mexico do NOT INNOVATE. Both Vietnam and Mexico have negligible USPTO patents. Without indigenous patented technology, Vietnam and Mexico will remain as cheap labor for foreign assembly plants.

Here is the problem. Mexico is an annual recipient of 203 USPTO patents. Vietnam is an annual recipient of 5 USPTO patents. How are you going to industrialize with negligible USPTO patents? The answer is: YOU CAN'T.
----------

The four largest exporters in the world (e.g. #1 China by using Greater China patents, #2 U.S., #3 Germany, and #4 Japan) are among the five largest USPTO (ie. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) patent holders.

Greater China comprises mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

PATENT COUNTS BY ORIGIN AND TYPE, CY 2015

Patents granted by the United States for the year 2015.

1. U.S. 155,982 patents
2. Japan 54,422
(Greater China 22,372)
3. South Korea 20,201
4. Germany 17,752
5. Taiwan 12,575
6. China 9,004
7. Canada 7,492
8. U.K. 7,167
9. France 7,026
10. Israel 3,804
11. India 3,415
12. Italy 3,090
...
Singapore 1,048
Hong Kong 793 (Patent office counts Hong Kong as a separate entity)
Russian Federation 483
Brazil 381
Malaysia 267

These countries are sometimes mentioned by the media as the "next China":

Poland 223
Mexico 203
South Africa 199
Turkey 136
Thailand 116
Chile 79
Greece 77
Argentina 72
Ukraine 64
Philippines 45
Egypt 30
Indonesia 21
Vietnam 5

wow, 5 million for Vietnam.
Congrats

 

[Martian2]

wow, 5 million for Vietnam.
Congrats

Not 5 million!

Click on the link to the US government's USPTO website.

Vietnam received FIVE USPTO patents for an entire year.

92 million Vietnamese managed to convince the USPTO to give them FIVE (as in the five fingers on your hand) patents for new ideas.

That's it. FIVE. Not five million.

There is no innovation occurring in Vietnam. That is why Vietnam is not going anywhere industrially or technologically.
----------

PATENT COUNTS BY ORIGIN AND TYPE, CY 2015

Patents granted by the United States for the year 2015.

Taiwan received 12,575 USPTO patents.
Turkey received 136 USPTO patents.
Vietnam received 5 USPTO patents.

 

[Jlaw]

You're wondering: What is Taiwan exporting to accumulate a large trade surplus?

Computer servers are part of the answer.

When we look at computer servers, Taiwan had sales of about $20 billion US dollars in 2017.

Total revenues for Taiwanese computer server manufacturers were about NT$600 billion New Taiwan Dollars. The exchange rate is about 30 New Taiwan Dollars for one US Dollar. Thus, NT$600 billion in revenue is equivalent to $20 billion US dollars.
----------

Taiwan server shipment forecast and industry analysis, 2017 | DigiTimes (May 31, 2017)

China does export computer servers but most western countries ban Chinese servers . Taiwan doesn't have those restrictions. If west allowed China to export servers without any restrictions like Taiwan, Taiwan may not be able to compete.

These countries are sometimes mentioned by the media as the "next China":

The next country to be China is China

 

[Viet]

You are wrong.

Vietnam is following Mexico's development path.

Mexico has maquiladora ("screwdriver" or assembly) plants along the US border for decades. Mexico has no technology company. Neither does Vietnam. Decades into the future, Vietnam will still be in the same position as Mexico today. No indigenous technology company. Why?

The answer is very simple. Vietnam and Mexico do NOT INNOVATE. Both Vietnam and Mexico have negligible USPTO patents. Without indigenous patented technology, Vietnam and Mexico will remain as cheap labor for foreign assembly plants.

Here is the problem. Mexico is an annual recipient of 203 USPTO patents. Vietnam is an annual recipient of 5 USPTO patents. How are you going to industrialize with negligible USPTO patents? The answer is: YOU CAN'T.

Mainland China and Taiwan each receive over 10,000 USPTO patents per year.
----------

The four largest exporters in the world (e.g. #1 China by using Greater China patents, #2 U.S., #3 Germany, and #4 Japan) are among the five largest USPTO (ie. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) patent holders.

Greater China comprises mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

PATENT COUNTS BY ORIGIN AND TYPE, CY 2015

Patents granted by the United States for the year 2015.

1. U.S. 155,982 patents
2. Japan 54,422
(Greater China 22,372)
3. South Korea 20,201
4. Germany 17,752
5. Taiwan 12,575
6. China 9,004
7. Canada 7,492
8. U.K. 7,167
9. France 7,026
10. Israel 3,804
11. India 3,415
12. Italy 3,090
...
Singapore 1,048
Hong Kong 793 (Patent office counts Hong Kong as a separate entity)
Russian Federation 483
Brazil 381
Malaysia 267

These countries are sometimes mentioned by the media as the "next China":

Poland 223
Mexico 203
South Africa 199
Turkey 136
Thailand 116
Chile 79
Greece 77
Argentina 72
Ukraine 64
Philippines 45
Egypt 30
Indonesia 21
Vietnam 5

you overstate the role of patents.

ok it was the British that invented the steam engine, but it was the Germans that improved the steam engine enabling Germany to overtake England in just a short period. it was Chinese that invented gun powder weapons, but it was Vietnamese that improved the technology that ensured the victory over the Ming army and in succession all other nations in indochinese mainland.

 

[Martian2]

you overstate the role of patents.

ok it was the British that invented the steam engine, but it was the Germans that improved the steam engine enabling Germany to overtake England in just a short period. it was Chinese that invented gun powder weapons, but it was Vietnamese that improved the technology that ensured the victory over the Ming army and in succession all other nations in indochinese mainland.

No, I did not overstate the importance of patents.

You can't sell anything of value in the United States without patents.

Your brain seems to be stuck 200 years in the past when you mention the steam engine.

This is the MODERN WORLD.

Every year, there are thousands of patent lawsuits in the United States.

In the modern world, you cannot sell a product in the United States (the world's largest market) or in China (the world's second largest market) if you infringe on another company's patent.
----------

By the way, are those Turkish forum members still around?

Turkey was granted a meager 136 USPTO patents for an entire year (see chart in earlier post with Taiwan's and Vietnam's annual USPTO patents granted).

Compare that to China's 11,241 USPTO patents received for last year.

As you can see, it is ridiculous to compare Turkey to Chinese technology.

 

[seesonic]

First, nothing is static in life unless you lie 2m under the earth surface in cementery. Second, whether VN is the second TW or not, is not up to you to decide. It is not nice if you think so but it is irrelevant. If TW and VN roles are reversed with all the wars we suffered you today still ride bicycle.

Last, VN surplus is close to $3 billion last year, it is expected to rise the years to come. Ok 3 billion USD is not much but if one considers the huge deficit we had not long ago. More importantly: VN’s rising external trades. Not long ago there were just few millions in exports, now over $200 billion.

You should slowly learn China and Taiwan are not the only countries on the planet. Such thinking will lead to you to nowhere in the long run. Sometimes the rise and fall of a nation is as close as the gap between genius and stupidity.

LMAO. "nothing is static in life"

Tell that to Vietnamese dong and the uncontrollable inflation vietnam experienced due to poor monetary policy by its incompetent government. I am sure the average vietnamese are real excited about dynamic moving lines

 

[Viet]

LMAO. "nothing is static in life"

Tell that to Vietnamese dong and the uncontrollable inflation vietnam experienced due to poor monetary policy by its incompetent government. I am sure the average vietnamese are real excited about dynamic moving lines

you are talking of the past. VN currency has been stable to the dollar since years. VND has even increased in value recently. you can compare VND to other currencies that crashed.

 

[Martian2]

you are talking of the past, of the years in the 1980s and 1990s. VN currency has been stable to the dollar since years. VND has even increased in value recently.

View attachment 447872

I don't think you know how to read that chart.

At the beginning of 2014, one US dollar purchased 21,000 Vietnamese Dongs.

Today, one US dollar buys about 23,000 Vietnamese Dong.

The same US dollar buys MORE Vietnamese Dongs today than three years ago.

That's not stable. That's about 10% depreciation of the Vietnamese currency in the last three years.