Four additional Taiwanese companies with overseas operations have pledged to invest NT$10.5 billion (US$337.1 million) in the nation at a time when market sentiment remains troubled by trade frictions between the US and China, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday.
The companies are contact lens brand Pegavision Corp (晶碩光學), probe card maker MPI Corp (旺矽科技), hydrolyzed soya peptide supplier DaBomb Protein Corp (達邦蛋白) and a vehicle parts maker that asked not to be named, the ministry said.
With the new additions, 77 firms have pledged investments totaling NT$386.4 billion and the creation of more than 35,000 jobs since the beginning of this year, the ministry said.
Pegavision, the third-largest contact lens maker in Taiwan, had previously planned to set up a new production site in China to make products for the US market, but the trade dispute prompted the firm to instead invest NT$7.5 billion to buy a factory in Taoyuan’s Dasi District (大溪) for the company’s headquarters, the ministry said.
Pegavision would also install automation equipment to boost efficiency at the new plant for an eventual production expansion, it added.
MPI, the world’s fifth-largest supplier of probe cards used for semiconductor production, has seen orders fall due to the trade dispute, so it is planning to invest NT$1 billion to build a new plant in Hsinchu to lower risk, the ministry said.
DaBomb is planning to invest more than NT$100 million to expand its existing plant in Taiwan and add smart production equipment to produce value-added products to better position itself to meet food safety standards, it said.
The vehicle parts maker is to invest NT$1.5 billion in Kaohsiung to build a new plant and office building, a move that is expected to strengthen its ability to supply automotive electronics systems and other components, the ministry said.
Combined, the four companies are expected to create 800 jobs, the ministry added.
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