This year’s investment targets for Taiwan’s four export processing zones have been reached in eight months, the Export Processing Zone Administration said yesterday.
New investment and expansions of existing investment projects in the zones totaled NT$50.3 billion (US$1.6 billion) in the first eight months of the year, representing a year-on-year increase of 34 percent, the administration said.
Of the total, NT$28.6 billion was invested in 65 new projects during the eight-month period, while NT$21.7 billion was invested in the expansion of 59 existing facilities, exceeding the overall investment target of NT$37 billion for the year.
The eight-month performance represented 136 percent of the annual performance achieved by the four export processing zones for the whole of last year, an administration official said.
To make the zones more attractive to investors, the administration has continued to cooperate with official agencies and academic institutions in recent years, the official said.
The zones’ administration has worked with 15 colleges and universities in central and southern Taiwan to offer 40 workshops for workers in the industrial parks to hone their skills, the official said.
He added that the administration recently signed letters of intent with four universities, including the National University of Kaohsiung, to further bolster cooperation and exchanges between the industrial and academic sectors.
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