Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone's LCD industry cluster momentum helps KOE deploy in the market

Amid weak global economic momentum and a general decline in corporate expansion investment, the Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone's import value from January to July this year (2016) nevertheless grew 37% against the trend compared with the same period last year, while export value also rose 13%, demonstrating strong competitiveness. The park focuses on LCD and IC industries as its key cluster industries, with output value accounting for more than 64% of the park's revenue. Among them, Kaohsiung Opto-Electronics Inc. (KOE), relying on decades of deep cultivation experience and solid technical strength, saw capacity and output value soar in the first and second quarters of this year as its deployment in the automotive market continued to gain traction, and its full-year performance is estimated to grow substantially to NT$10 billion.

The Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone is the earliest-established export processing zone in the country and also the first export processing zone in the world. Since its establishment in the 55th year of the Republic of China era (1966), it has undergone 50 years of continuous trials and transformations, shifting from traditional labor-intensive industries to high-value-added technology- and knowledge-intensive industries. KOE, formerly Kaohsiung Hitachi Electronics, has also accompanied the export processing zone through nearly half a century.

In recent years, driven by the trend of displays being installed in automobiles, automotive panels have become a hot product that manufacturers are racing to produce. In June of the 103rd year of the Republic of China era (2014), KOE again won the favor of Japan Display Inc., building the group's first high-efficiency automated automotive-specification panel production line in the Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone, and in April of the 104th year of the Republic of China era (2015) officially launched its automated automotive LCD production line into mass production.

KOE stated that in the future it will continue to follow the reform principle of "there is no best, only better," hoping to build a second, even better new automotive panel production line, advancing toward 2-fold growth and a target capacity of 5 times, and joining hands with the processing zone once again to create another prosperous scene.