Foreign firms eye US$5.3 billion in investments

2016/10/05

The 2016 Taiwan Business Alliance Conference was held Oct. 3 at the Taipei International Convention Center, with 66 foreign companies expressing willingness to invest a total of NT$166 billion (US$5.3 billion) in Taiwan over the next three years, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The investment projects proposed by foreign investors, mainly from the U.S., Europe and Japan, would create more than 15,000 jobs and boost Taiwan’s economic momentum, according to the MOEA. Meanwhile, the ministry signed letters of intent with representatives of 20 foreign companies for investments totaling NT$105 billion.

“For decades, foreign investment has contributed to Taiwan’s industrial upgrading, human resource development and social and cultural development,” President Tsai Ing-wen said at the opening of the event. “We are excited to work with companies worldwide on technology, supply chain integration and systems development. Together we can create enormous business opportunities.”

The government is seeking to transform the economy into one based on innovation. To do so, it is focusing on five major industries, namely biomedicine and pharmaceuticals, green energy, national defense, smart machinery and the Internet of Things.

According to Lien Yu-ping, director-general of the MOEA’s Department of Investment Services, 60 percent of the proposed investments focus on these five innovative industries.

Among the companies intending to launch or expand investment activities in Taiwan are Dong Energy, Denmark’s largest energy company, and Macquarie Capital (Hong Kong) Ltd., both of which are exploring the potential of offshore wind farms. Japan-based Hitachi High-Technologies Corp. and Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of the U.S. expressed interest in Taiwan’s semiconductor field, while French communications service provider Sigfox is considering investment in IoT development and applications. Techko Group of the U.S. is looking closely at Taiwan’s intelligent and robotic systems industry.

Now in its 13th year, the MOEA-organized TBAC serves as a major platform for enhancing industrial transformation and boosting economic momentum.

This year’s TBAC reaffirms the important role that industrial transformation and innovation play in the nation’s economic policy, Tsai said, calling on foreign investors to take advantage of Taiwan’s strengths in research and development, human resources and industrial cluster development to boost growth for their companies and the nation.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=248333&ctNode=2194&mp=9)