Approved local investment on the part of Taiwanese firms as part of a government initiative launched early last year has reached NT$1.123 trillion (US$38.78 billion), the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Since the launch of three major programs for investing in Taiwan on Jan. 1 last year, approved investment in Taiwan by 682 firms has generated 94,050 job opportunities, ministry officials told a weekly Cabinet meeting.
Last year alone, NT$250 billion in investment was injected into the nation’s economy, while about NT$374.9 billion is expected this year, contributing 1.7 percentage points to GDP growth, the officials said.
Among Taiwanese firms participating in the programs, 15 are suppliers to Tesla Inc — the world’s largest electric vehicle maker — including LCD panel maker Innolux Corp (群創), iPhone assembler Pegatron Corp (和碩) and Tong Hsing Electronic Industries Inc (同欣電子), an image sensor packaging service, the officials said.
The 15 firms combined have been approved to invest more than NT$100 billion in five areas of the electric vehicle industry, which the officials said would help lay a solid foundation for Taiwan’s development of six major strategic industries, including artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things and cybersecurity systems.
At a news conference following the meeting, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Chuan-neng (林全能) said that electric, driverless and intelligent vehicles are trends of the auto industry.
Through cooperation with Tesla, local suppliers stand a good chance of establishing a key electric vehicle manufacturing hub in Taiwan, Lin said.
Citing Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Executive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) told reporters that taking advantage of a shake-up in international supply chains amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s incentives to boost investment at home, Taiwan would transform itself into a global high-tech hub focused on green energy research and advanced manufacturing.
Separately, LED and semiconductor lead frame maker Chang Wah Technology Co (長華科技) broke ground for a new plant at the Nantze Export Processing Zone (楠梓出口加工區) in Kaohsiung.
The company gained the ministry’s approval in September last year to spend NT$3 billion on the facility in light of increasing demand from returning Taiwanese IC companies and foreign clients’ orders being diverted from China.
The new plant is to produce lead frames for high-end consumer electronics packaging and testing in the 5G, AI and automated driving areas, the company said, adding that the investment is to generate 150 job opportunities.
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