Most of us are familiar with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, if for no other reason than that we might have worn a way-cool LED watch back in the 1970s. Well, LEDs have come a long way since then; these days, they represent the next generation of lighting technology that has the likes of General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Philips scrambling to scoop up LED manufacturers.

It's reported that the total revenues of Taiwan LED makers listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) reached NT$5.7 billion (US$177 million) in January, up 1.8% from NT$5.6 billion last December. Downstream packaging makers saw their total revenues reach NT$3.36 billion, up 3% sequentially, while LED chip makers totaled revenues of NT$2.34 billion, up 0.1% sequentially.