Foreign direct investment (FDI) approved by the Investment Commission last year totaled US$11.25 billion, down 15.4 percent from the previous year, but the third-highest since the 2008 global financial crisis.
FDI reached a record US$13.3 billion last year, the highest in 16 years, while the second-highest was in 2018 at US$11.44 billion, the commission said in a report yesterday.
FDI measures the investment activities of foreign firms, including the incorporation of a subsidiary or joint venture, a cash injection into a local unit, or mergers or acquisitions of domestic companies.
Photo: CNA
Despite a setback in FDI last year, foreign companies remain optimistic about Taiwan’s economic prospects, the commission said.
“The average annual FDI was approximately US$10.3 billion from 2016 to 2023, which was much higher than the average of US$5.36 billion from 2008 to 2015, with the top six seen in the past eight years,” the commission said. “This shows that despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tension and global economic uncertainty, Taiwan is still attractive to foreign investments.”
In particular, investments from New Southbound Policy countries increased 22.45 percent annually to US$2.54 billion, led by Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, it said.
Taiwan’s FDI excludes investments from China. The commission last year approved US$29.69 million in investments by Chinese firms, a 23.34 percent decrease from a year earlier and marking the lowest since the government lifted a ban on Chinese investments on June 30, 2009, it said.
The commission last year approved a record US$23.58 billion in outbound investments, excluding to China, representing growth of 136.67 percent from the previous year.
That included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) investments of US$8 billion in TSMC Arizona Corp and 3.5 billion euros (US$3.83 billion) in European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co GmbH in Germany; Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s (鴻海精密) investment of US$800 million in Foxconn Singapore Pte Ltd; and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp’s (陽明海運) investment of US$800 million on Yang Ming Line (Singapore) Pte Ltd, the commission said.
Outbound investments to China plunged 39.83 percent year-on-year to US$3.04 billion last year, the lowest since 2002, while those to New Southbound Policy countries grew 5.15 percent to US$5.54 billion, which the commission attributed to local firms’ increasing investments in Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
RSS