Taiwan and the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the field of intellectual property protection on Saturday at the end of a two-day bilateral economic conference in Manila.
Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (
Under the MOU, both sides promised to cooperate on protecting intellectual property rights and exchanging of information and personnel.
Chen said that both sides had raised many issues during the conference, reflecting the many forms of cooperation between Taipei and Manila.
Philippine negotiators, citing Taiwan's expertise in the field of information technology, asked for help with training integrated circuit designers and encouraging Taiwanese high-tech companies to increase investments in the Philippines.
In addition to the Subic Bay freeport zone, where Taiwanese companies operating in the Philippines are concentrated, Chen said the Philippines encouraged Taiwanese businesses to set up factories at the Clark Special Zone, north of Manila.
In order to attract Taiwanese businesses, Chen said, the Philippine government agreed to give Taiwanese high-tech companies tax breaks for between six and eight years.
The Philippines also agreed to offer the staff and executives of Taiwanese companies 90-day visas in addition to their work permits.
Taiwan is the Philippines' 10th largest source of foreign investment, Chen said, adding that Taiwanese investment in the country had increased from US$193 million in 2004 to US$225 million last year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
RSS