Taiwan has retained its ranking as the fourth-best investment destination in the world, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday, citing a report issued by US-based Business Environment Risk Intelligence SA (BERI).
Taiwan had a profit opportunity recommendation of 64, slipping from 65 in the previous report in April due to the political climate, the ministry said, citing the report.
The profit opportunity recommendation is an overall indicator used by BERI to evaluate countries as an investment destination.
Switzerland remained at the top of the list with a profit opportunity recommendation of 74, followed by Norway (69) and Singapore (65), while Japan (62) was fifth, the report said.
The list is based on three main indicators used to assess investment-related risks: operations risks, political risks and remittance and repatriation factor risk.
In terms of operations risk, Taiwan scored 65, beating all other Asian nations except India, which had the same score.
It scored well on aspects such as administration efficiency, economic growth, inflation and currency supply, which put the nation fourth globally, the report said.
Switzerland also topped the operations risk index with 71 points, ahead of the US (68) and Australia (66), while among other Asian nations, South Korea ranked 10th globally, Singapore was 12th, Japan was 32nd and China was 42nd.
However, Taiwan slipped to seventh among Asian nations on the political risk index, scoring 44 points, and was 20th globally alongside Malaysia.
Japan was third globally on 65 points, followed by Singapore (63) and China (58) in fifth.
Taiwan topped the global repatriation factor index with 84 points, as the nation is considered strongest in terms of international reserves, foreign exchange and foreign debt.
Among other Asian nations, South Korea (78) and Japan (77) were close behind.
Overall, the report gave Taiwan’s general investment climate a “1B” rating, meaning its equity market is good for long-term investment.
Taiwan is expected to be the seventh-best investment destination worldwide by 2024, although its overall profit opportunity recommendation score is expected to rise to 66 points, the report said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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