The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) hosted the third consultation meeting for Asia New Bay Area 5G AIoT Innovation Park today (4th of January).  The meeting was led by MOEA Deputy Minister Chern-Chyi Chen and Kaohsiung City Deputy Mayor Ta-Sheng Lo. Representatives from Kaohsiung City Government, MOEA, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ministry of Digital Affairs, National Development Council, and Ministry of Culture were invited to attend. The meeting brought to light the latest achievement of inter-ministerial communication regarding development of the innovation park, smart facilities, start-up linkages, field applications, talent nurturing, and industrial clustering. As of the end of the year 2022, Asia New Bay Area 5G AIoT Innovation Park has attracted domestic and foreign investments of NT$15.4 billion, creating more than NT$32.7 billion of production value. 18 important enterprises including Compal, Wistro, AUO, and AUS have set up offices in Kaohsiung. Three international accelerators and ninety-five start-ups have also joined the innovation park to form part of Asia New Bay Area's 5G AIoT entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC) collaborated to assist local leading enterprises such as CPC Corporation, China Steel Corporation, Formosa Plastics, Sheh Fung Screws, and OFCO to undergo digital transformation using 5G AIoT.  This collaboration promotes industrial innovation upgrade and encourages talent flow to southern Taiwan, shaping the region in becoming a pioneer in new-generation tech application.

Deputy Minister Chern-Chyi Chen says the innovation park is the most complete 5G AIoT implementation site with the largest investment in Taiwan. Via the inter-ministerial team formed by MOEA that integrated and negotiated central and local government resources, 2022 proved to be a remarkably productive year. First, the 5G AIoT ecosystem landed successfully in Kaohsiung to conduct thirty-six local innovative field validations. Second, by linking start-ups, the number of start-up teams in residency has doubled since 2021. This shows that 5G AIoT Innovation Park has become the ideal platform for start-up teams to create a new business.  Third, the first building of Kaohsiung Software Park Phase II with investment from MOEA broke ground in 2022. Once completed in January 2026, the building will provide approximately 33,058m2 of office space for enterprises. The Asia New Bay Area benefits from unique transport and industrial conditions. MOEA will continue to work closely with other government agencies and collaborate with domestic and foreign enterprises to promote the development of the Asia New Bay Area Innovation Park and encourage digital upgrade and transformation of industries in southern Taiwan.

Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Ta-Sheng Lo says the Innovation Park has great potential as a demonstration site. To attract manufacturers, Kaohsiung City Government introduced the "006688" incentive, which provides subsidies in financial interest, house tax, and wage subsidy to help enterprises in residency gain a foothold. This in turn accelerates the development of the innovation park. Kaohsiung City Government will collaborate with the central government to establish the largest 5G demonstration site and digital transformation hub in Taiwan.  It also provides all application sites with administrative assistance and comprehensive service. This support aims to attract more enterprise partners to join Kaohsiung's digital transformation, and work together for the future of Kaohsiung's economy and industry development.  

The Asia New Bay Area 5G AIoT Innovation Park showcases milestones under the effort and collaboration between central and local government with industrial and research sectors. There has been significant progress in the expansion of industry cluster under MOEA's "A+ Industrial Innovation R&D Program." The program encourages domestic and global enterprises to establish R&D centers in the Asia New Bay Area. Six international renowned enterprises such as AUO, Compal, Taiwan Medical Imaging, Askey, HTC, and Asus Cloud have joined, boosting local R&D capacity.  As of start-up linkages, not only have ninety-five start-ups been recruited but three international accelerators such as BE Accelerator, Footek, Flying Vest have also joined residency.  Through the "2022 Greentech Startup Challenge," start-ups were asked to solve issues presented by established enterprises including AUO, TSMC, ASE, Syscom, Taipower, Ritek, Askey, Advantech, Delta, and CPC, creating collaborative opportunities between existing enterprises and new entrepreneurs to help start-ups grow.  The implementation of 5G AIoT technology was actively promoted in field application, including twelve manufacturing plants (i.e. CPC, China Steel Corporation, Formosa Plastics, Sheh Feng Screws, Ofco), eleven landmark infrastructures (i.e. Kaohsiung Music Center, Kaohsiung Exhibition Center, TESL), six themed venues (i.e. Kaohsiung Port Area, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Arts Pier II), and seven medical facilities (i.e. Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital). There are a total of thirty-six field sites that implemented innovative application. For example, the 5G XR Broadcasting Vehicle that made its debut in 2022's Taiwan Legends Championship, Weiwuying's WishingTree, and the AI Smart Guide System on Kaohsiung Port's charming Snoopy Ferry. These applications spur the development of the 5G AIoT industrial ecosystem, help to incubate tech talent, and transform industries in southern Taiwan.

The Asia New Bay Area 5G AIoT Innovation Park will continue to integrate resources from government agencies and industries, focusing on local petrochemical, maritime, and digital entertainment industries. Acting as the center hub, it will promote several projects, including CPC's gas detector, the world's first 5G smart harbour, application of the smart pole, Kaohsiung Software Park autonomous robots, and logistic services that use innovative 5G AIoT application for commercial operations. It will also bridge domestic and foreign enterprises with start-ups to create a high number of domestic enterprises in the 5G AIoT industry chain. The drive to transform and upgrade southern Taiwan's industrial structure will increase its international competitiveness. Kaohsiung city government also announced the launch of the "Asia New Bay Area Plan 2," which will collaborate with the central government to form enterprise clusters, becoming the gateway for enterprises to internationalize. This plan also invites international enterprises to set-up their headquarters or R&D centers in the Asia New Bay Area, aiming to develop talent clusters of tech application management. The infrastructure will become an open waterfront area for leisure and financial economic use.

Asia New Bay Area consists of 27.8 hectares of substantial waterfront ground, part of which is in contract with the urban regeneration plan "Economic and Trade Park Specific Trade Zone (III)". It offers 330,000m2 to 495,870m2 of office space, and will create at least 4,000 job opportunities. There are future plans to build smart academies, 5G AIoT innovation exchange and industrial design centers, and smart retail experience stations. An increase in subsidies is expected for financial and technology industries that join the Asia New Bay Area Innovation Park.