Fewer German companies in Taiwan consider the business environment friendly, although many have achieved or exceeded their business target for this year and would continue to invest in the nation, a survey by the German Trade Office Taipei showed yesterday.
A majority, or 57 percent, of German firms said they would be able to reach or exceed their business target for this year, a big increase from 38 percent last year, the office’s executive director Axel Limberg told a media briefing.
The improvement came from a global economic recovery, benefiting Taiwan’s economy, which depends heavily on exports of electronic components used in mobile and computing devices.
Most German companies in Taiwan are involved in the sale of machinery equipment, electronics, chemicals, automotive parts, and other goods and services, Limberg said, adding that about 60 percent of them have established a presence in Taiwan for at least 15 years.
While 59 percent of respondents this year considered Taiwanese authorities to be business-friendly, that figure is lower than the 63 percent posted in last year and in 2015, Limberg said.
“We see room for improvement in areas such as applications for product certification, although the issues are not very serious,” Limberg added.
Automotive gadgets already approved in Germany are subjected to further or Taiwan-only tests or certifications, which not only delay their arrival but also raise costs for local consumers, Volkswagen Group Taiwan managing director Terence Johnsson said.
Most German firms operate in Taiwan to tap into the local market or build their presence in Asia, the survey found.
Others set up operations here to be close to their suppliers, cut production costs, and expand their research and development capability in Taiwan, it said.
Taiwan could help advance self-driving technology given its leadership in the development of high-performance processors, Johnsson said.
As in previous years, finding and retaining qualified staff, especially those in senior positions, pose the biggest headache for German companies in Taiwan, with nearly 70 percent citing the issue as the No. 1 challenge, the survey said.
Merck Taiwan’s managing director Dick Hsieh (謝志宏) said the global material supplier is expanding its facilities for research and development in Taiwan because the nation’s employees are talented and hard-working.
Respondents said they hope the government would draw up more consistent and reliable industrial policies so they can operate with better clarity and direction.
Jim Tai (戴英傑), managing director of Remondis, a global waste management company, said different authorities tend to have different interpretations of environmental protection codes, slowing the firm’s effort to help and adjust.
Still, 72 percent of German firms would continue investing in Taiwan and 47 percent expect the economy to improve next year, the survey said.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort