Kaohsiung has shifted from a heavy-industry city toward semiconductors and finance, drawing more than NT$2.7 trillion in investment over the past six years — good news for local employment and industrial upgrading.

• Kaohsiung has attracted over NT$2.7 trillion in investment in six years, developing six industrial parks and adding 710 hectares of industrial land.
• The semiconductor cluster is anchored by TSMC's advanced processes, linking major firms such as AMD, Entegris, Merck and ASE.
• Employment across the three major science parks — Kaohsiung, Ciaotou and Nanzih — has risen from 8,600 to more than 20,000, more than doubling.
• The city ranks first among Taiwan's six special municipalities in growth rate of operating factories, factory revenue and output per capita.
• Taiwan's first Asian asset management centre zone is located in Kaohsiung, and revenue in the financial and insurance sector grew 13% year on year, also the highest among the six municipalities.

Outlook: With Chen Chi-mai's term drawing to a close, whether Kaohsiung's transformation continues will depend on whether the next city government maintains the same intensity in attracting investment and the accelerated pace demanded by global competitive pressure.