Taiwan 1st half investment hits US$22.3 billion

2014-07-31

A total of NT$666.5 billion (US$22.3 billion) was invested by the private sector in the first half of 2014, 51.27 percent of the annual target, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs July 29.

“Investment by overseas Taiwan businesses hit NT$55.1 billion, while foreign direct investment stood at US$5.65 billion,” the MOEA said at the Invest-Taiwan summit in Taipei City.

The figure brought total investment by overseas Taiwan businesses since the implementation of an MOEA promotion program in November 2012 to NT$199.4 billion, with the figure expected to easily top NT$200 billion in the coming quarter.

Power supply was the sector most ahead of target, with NT$3.3 billion invested, mostly in wind and solar plants, or 66.67 percent of the full-year objective.

Boosted by the MOEA’s Incentive Program of Offshore Wind Power Demonstration System, Taiwan’s wind power capacity is projected to reach 4,200 megawatts, equivalent to a reduction of 8.4 million tons of carbon emissions, and generate over NT$500 billion in revenue in 2030.

On the retail front, the local industry saw a target completion rate of 55.75 percent with total investment of NT$41.8 billion. The electronics and information technology industry, the biggest sector by value, also exceeded expectations with NT$271.2 billion in investment or 53.7 percent of target.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. injected about NT$60 billion to expand production at Hsinchu Science Park. International cloud computing operators also made a considerable contribution to the sector, the MOEA said.

Over the past year, cloud computing has pulled in a total investment of over NT$120 billion to Taiwan. A total of NT$28 billion was spent by global leaders Google Inc. and Super Micro Computer Inc. to build regional data centers. Local media firms and telecom operators shelled out NT$68.3 billion on industry clusters and infrastructure, while IT manufacturers invested over NT$27 billion in hardware and solutions.

The MOEA expects Taiwan manufacturers to continue leveraging their competitive edge in hardware production to tap tremendous business opportunities in cloud computing.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=220163&CtNode=413)