New private investment in Taiwan reached NT$136 billion (US$4.53 billion) last month, up from NT$75.2 billion recorded in May, according to statistics released yesterday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The ministry said the significant increase in new private investment last month reflected several large-scale investment plans by local high-tech and retail sectors.
Last month, machine tool manufacturer Hiwin Technologies Corp (上銀科技) began to invest NT$28 billion in production capacity expansion, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) announced it would invest NT$12.2 billion in production equipment purchases.
In addition, Far Eastern Department Stores Ltd (遠東百貨) has invested about NT$6 billion to build a shopping mall in New Taipei City (新北市), while Siliconware Precision Industries Co (矽品精密), a major integrated circuit packaging and testing services provider, is injecting NT$5 billion to upgrade its production facilities.
In the first six months of this year, private investment totaled NT$698 billion in 1,204 projects, accounting for about 63.46 percent of a goal of NT$1.1 trillion of private sector investment for this year set by the government, according to the statistics.
The NT$698 billion in new private investment in the six-month period grew about 10 percent from the corresponding period last year on the back of solid growth in new investment in the electronics and information business, which totaled NT$250.1 billion, the data showed.
During the first half, the wholesale, retail and logistics sectors garnered NT$55.8 billion in new investment, while the chemical industry received NT$156.6 million in new investment and NT$35.7 billion from the technology services sector, the data showed.
In the six-month period, foreign investment totaled US$6.89 billion and investments by overseas Taiwanese companies reached NT$28.4 billion, according to the ministry.
To help foreign investors remove investment hurdles in Taiwan, a Cabinet-level service center yesterday said it had served 95 cases in the first six months, up 42 percent from a year earlier.
Of the 95 cases, 33 investment cases were registered by Japanese firms, followed by 19 cases by US and Canadian firms, according to data released by InvesTaiwan Service Center.
“Investment cases from the US and Europe decreased, while those from Japan increased in the first six months, compared with the same period last year, which is in line with the economic situation in both Europe and the US,” InvestTaiwan CEO Christophe Lai (賴作松) said.
“On a cumulative basis, the center has served 327 cases since its inception in 2010, including 175 cases that were completed realizing investments totaling NT$28.5 billion, creating 8,500 jobs,” Lai said.
Major investment cases receiving help from the service unit in the first six months included a NT$3 billion investment by US-based Super Micro Computer Inc, a NT$440 million project by Japan-based JSR Micro Taiwan Co, a NT$3.2 billion investment by Panasonic Taiwan Co, a NT$2.1 billion investment by Furukawa Circuit Foil Taiwan Corp and a NT$2.4 billion investment by France-based Decathlon sporting goods chain store, as well as investments by Hitachi Chemical Co to open a new plant, Lai said.
It is worth noting that in the services sector, US-based Avis car rentals was introduced to Taiwan last month, he added.
In the second half of the year, six major cases with investments of about NT$9 billion are bearing fruit, including Taiwan NICCA Chemical Co opening a new plant in Taoyuan yesterday, with Nikko Metals Taiwan Co, Fujimi Inc and Hokuto Corp soon to open new factories, he added.
Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) has set a goal of 30 percent annual growth for the center to achieve, both in the number of cases received and the capital invested, Lai said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six