The nation’s fixed-asset investments grew 7.2 percent annually to NT$1.96 trillion (US$62.4 billion) in the first half of this year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
“The manufacturing sector remains the most important driver of growth in fixed-asset investment,” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) said by telephone. “We have witnessed strong momentum from listed manufacturers, especially Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co [TSMC, 台積電].”
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is expected to boost its fixed-asset investment to more than US$11 billion this year as it aims to increase capacity at its 7-nanometer and 5-nanometer fabs, the ministry said.
The company last year accounted for 40 percent of total fixed-asset investments by listed companies, Wang said.
The arrival of new players in the field of renewable energy generation, such as wind and solar power, are also contributing to a steady increase in fixed-asset investments, she said, adding that returning Taiwanese companies would further boost the growth.
While companies across the board mainly invest in areas such as construction, machinery and equipment, which made up 36.9 percent and 32.2 percent of overall fixed-asset investments in the first half respectively, they are also increasingly investing in intellectual property, which made up 24.6 percent in the same period, the ministry said.
“Companies in the electronics industry and other high-tech industries are particularly affected in this area... They must always invest a lot in research and development to stay ahead of the game,” Wang said.
Traditional industry companies are also investing more in intellectual property as they look to transform and upgrade, she said.
As high-tech businesses continue to expand equipment and enhance production, along with demand from returning Taiwanese companies, imports of capital equipment reached a record US$28 billion in the first seven months, up 13 percent annually, while the number of newly registered factories reached 2,384 in the same period, up 3.4 percent from a year earlier and the highest number since 2007, the ministry said.
Total fixed-asset investments are forecast to surpass NT$4 trillion by the end of this year, up 6 percent from last year, the ministry said, citing the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics’ estimate earlier this month.
The ratio of fixed-asset investments to GDP last year hit a four-year high at 21 percent, surpassing the US, which reported a ratio of 20.5 percent, the ministry said, adding that the ratio in Taiwan is expected to inch up to 22.2 percent this year, the highest since 2013.
However, the nation remained on the lower end of the spectrum compared with 30.4 percent in South Korea and 23.8 percent in Japan, the ministry said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
CUSTOMERS’ BURDEN: TSMC already has operations in the US and is a foundry, so any tariff increase would mostly affect US customers, not the company, the minister said Taiwanese manufacturers are “not afraid” of US tariffs, but are concerned about being affected more heavily than regional economic competitors Japan and South Korea, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said. “Taiwan has many advantages that other countries do not have, the most notable of which is its semiconductor ecosystem,” Kuo said. The US “must rely on Taiwan” to boost its microchip manufacturing capacities, Kuo said in an interview ahead of his one-year anniversary in office tomorrow. Taiwan has submitted a position paper under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act to explain the “complementary relationship” between Taiwan and the US
RSS