About 21 percent of Taiwanese businesspeople in China say they plan to decrease their investment in China, a study funded by the Mainland Affairs Council showed.
The council enlisted an academic institution to investigate the challenges facing Taiwanese investors in China, and their plans to address them.
More than 60 percent of Taiwanese businesspeople based in China invest in the manufacturing industry, with a higher percentage of them involved in the manufacturing of electronics, electronic components, computers and optical products, the study found.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The businesspeople said their recent investment decisions were mostly influenced by Beijing’s policy of raising workers’ minimum wage.
The restructuring of the global supply chain — triggered by a trade dispute between the US and China — along with China’s changing environment for foreign investors have led to a decrease in investments in China, the study showed.
Nearly 70 percent of Taiwanese businesspeople said their investment in China would remain unchanged in the next three to five years, while only 10 percent said that they would expand the scale of their investments in China and 21.5 percent said they would decrease their investments.
Meanwhile, 45.4 percent of China-based Taiwanese businesspeople said they had reduced their investment because of geopolitical risks, while 40.2 percent said that demand from China’s domestic market has declined.
A relatively small number of the businesspeople surveyed said they remained positive about the potential of the Chinese market.
Overall, profits earned by Taiwanese businesspeople have declined in the past few years, particularly for those in the cement and construction businesses, the study showed.
About 40 percent said they planned to reduce their production capacity or the number of new employees, as they are more pessimistic about the prospects of the Chinese market.
More than 70 percent said that their investment strategies would be to bolster the research and development of products, branding and marketing, while 40 percent said they would increase their investment in Taiwan, Vietnam and other countries.
About 10 percent said that they are considering closing their businesses in China.
The government should recruit consulting firms to help Taiwanese businesspeople address issues around the withdrawal of their investments in China, the study said.
The government should have a comprehensive plan to attract Taiwanese businesspeople back to Taiwan to set up their operations domestically, it said, adding that the government could also invest in green energy, civil aeronautics and other key industries.
In addition to Taiwan, Taiwanese businesspeople should consider investing in Southeast Asian countries, middle and eastern Europe, South America and Africa, the study said.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS