Taiwan ranks as the world's fourth-best place for investment, behind only Switzerland, Singapore and the Netherlands, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, citing a report by a US-based research institute.
Among Asian economies, Singapore ranks first in terms of its investment climate, while Taiwan ties with Japan at second, according to the report compiled in December by the Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI).
BERI studies the investment climates and competitiveness of the world's 50 major economies regularly. Its previous survey was released in August last year.
The report indicated that Taiwan's investment climate belongs in the top "1A" category, meaning that the nation is a low-risk investment destination, an official under the Industrial Development and Investment Center said yesterday.
The report reflects the steady business operations, growing export trade and recovering economy, the official said.
The nation's exports rose in December at their fastest pace in more than a year, climbing to a record NT$474.67 billion (US$14.04 billion), the Ministry of Finance said last month.
For the full year of 2003, exports rose 10.4 percent from the previous year to NT$4.87 trillion (US$144.24 billion), the highest level in three years, as a global economic recovery bolstered demand, the ministry said.
Sales to China, including Hong Kong, rose 30 percent in December to US$5 billion, according to the ministry's statistics. China has overtaken the US to become the largest export market for Taiwan since August of 2002.
BERI forecasts that trade between Taiwan and China will increase substantially in the near future, especially if the two sides establish direct transportation links, and that the investment climate will surpass that of Japan in five years.
In the same report, South Korea was listed along with Malaysia and China as the world's 19th best-place for investment. Thailand was 29th and Vietnam 35th. The Philippines and Indonesia were 39th and 44th.
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