Fixed-asset investments by the local manufacturing sector in the fourth quarter of last year increased 41.3 percent year-on-year to NT$474.9 billion (US$15.77 billion), as more firms with overseas operations invested at home, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday last week.
Investments in fixed assets, such as plants and production equipment, in the final quarter of last year hit a new high, the ministry said, adding that the manufacturing sector was keen to develop emerging technologies, such as 5G applications and artificial intelligence, to further boost investments.
It was the sixth consecutive quarter manufacturers have posted a year-on-year increase in combined fixed-asset investments, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) said.
The pace of growth was the highest since the third quarter of 2010, when the increase stood at 45.06 percent, Wang said.
Machinery and related equipment accounted for 84.9 percent of total fixed-asset investments, up 50.5 percent from a year earlier, ministry data showed.
The electronic components industry topped the list of sectors by investing NT$320.1 billion in fixed assets, up 54.6 percent year-on-year and accounting for 67.4 percent of the total.
The growth largely reflected semiconductor makers investing in advanced processes and printed circuit board producers expanding their capital expenditure, Wang said.
The computer and optoelectronic sectors invested NT$15.2 billion in fixed assets during the quarter, up 14.9 percent year-on-year, as a US-China trade dispute prompted many firms to relocate their production back to Taiwan, the ministry said.
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