According to M.T. Chu, director of Electronics & Optoelectronics Research Laboratories (EOL) of the government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan’s LED industry is poised to recover soon.

Firstly, in Chu’s opinion, Taiwan’s LED makers’ 60% orders come from the mainland. He ascribed the 2011 supply glut of Taiwan’s LED industry mostly to slower-than-expected global market for LCD TVs lit by LED backlights and desperate production expansions at mainland China’s LED makers. Thanks to the lucrative business opportunities hidden in mainland China’s ambitious project, namely the 12th Five-Year Development Plan, the island’s LED industry will see growth drives in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Secondly, despite Taiwan LED rival South Korea’s backlight-module makers have secured the most advantageous position in the supply chain, Taiwan’s manufacturers will soon see business recover as many of them have joined the chain.

Thirdly, the common standard co-established by Taiwan and the mainland on 11 LED technologies will play a major part in helping Taiwanese suppliers increase market share in the mainland. Plus, quality LED suppliers like Taiwanese manufacturers will also benefit from the mainland’s implementation of the Energy Management Contracting (EMC) system. And instead of competing with the mainland’s suppliers in prices, Chu suggested that Taiwan’s small-sized manufacturers switch profession to special-purpose lighting with their quality manufacturing capability.