The government’s “Invest in Taiwan” initiative might this year see NT$627.1 billion (US$21.7 billion) of investment pledges realized, with several firms raising stakes and two dropouts due to customer losses, Minister of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
Wang made the statement at the monthly meeting of the Third Wednesday Club, a local trade group featuring the top 100 firms of each business sector.
Since early last year, the government has launched three programs intended to help local companies grapple with US-China trade rows and the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly through moving production lines back to Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Thus far, the ministry has received NT$1.13 trillion of investment pledges, with NT$251.3 billion invested last year and NT$375.8 million to be fulfilled by the end of this year, Wang said, adding that investments have for example been made by motherboard maker Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉), cloud computing equipment supplier Wiwynn Corp (緯穎科技), communications solutions provider Accton Technology Corp (智邦科技) and networking equipment supplier Wistron NeWeb Corp (啟碁科技), among others.
Local firms have been moving high-end manufacturing facilities home to diversify investment risks as the US and China decouple trade ties. The restructuring allowed local firms to benefit from order transfers when China and ASEAN member countries came under lockdown earlier this year to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
Packaging specialist Taiwan Lamination Industries Inc (台灣積層工業), Highlight Tech Corp (日揚科技) and Wistron NeWeb have increased investments to meet growing demand for their products, Wang said.
Two companies have called off investment plans after their top customer, China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為), canceled orders, she said.
As of Friday last week, the government had this year given its approval to 389 companies that pledged to invest NT$284.9 billion and created 24,821 jobs in Taiwan, Wang said.
Taichung emerges as the biggest investment destination, while Taoyuan enjoys the most new jobs, she said.
Wang said that local companies should tap business opportunities in the green energy sector, following the global trend.
In Taiwan, companies that consume the most electricity would be required to purchase equitable amounts of green energy, she said.
Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) announced that it would sign a 20-year contract with Orsted Taiwan Ltd (沃旭能源) to purchase all the electricity generated by its offshore wind farms after commercial operations start in 2025 or 2026.
Wang said that an uptick in COVID-19 infections worldwide dims the chance for Taiwan to ease travel restrictions anytime soon.
“I know border controls and mandatory quarantine create great inconvenience for businesses, but the spikes in virus infections worldwide require caution,” Wang said.
‘SHORT-TERM ECONOMIC PAIN’: A military takeover would only temporarily weigh on wafer production on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, IC Insights said Taiwan has more chip manufacturing capacity than any other economy in the world, US-based market information advisory firm IC Insights said in a research paper last week, cautioning that the nation’s strength could prompt China to attempt to take over Taiwan. Taiwan commanded 21.4 percent of global installed IC capacity, ahead of South Korea’s 20.4 percent, Japan’s 15.8 percent and China’s 15.3 percent, North America’s 12.6 percent and Europe’s 5.7 percent, IC Insights said. Taiwan is one of two countries that uses 10-nanometer technology or better to produce wafers, holding 62.8 percent of global capacity, with South Korea holding the remaining 37.2
SELF-SUFFICIENCY: Alibaba is one of a number of Chinese firms that has answered Beijing’s call to invest in the development of cutting-edge technologies Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) yesterday unveiled a new server chip that is based on advanced 5-nanometer technology, marking a milestone in China’s pursuit of semiconductor self-sufficiency. The Chinese tech giant’s newest chip is based on micro-architecture provided by the SoftBank Group Corp-owned Arm Ltd, it said. Alibaba, which is holding its annual cloud summit in Hangzhou, China, said that the chip is to be used in its own data centers in the “near future” and would not, for the time being, be sold commercially. “Customizing our own server chips is consistent with our ongoing efforts toward boosting our computing capabilities with better
AGGRESSIVE STEP: With the new processors, Apple is aiming at the high-end chips Intel has provided for the MacBook Pro and other top-end Macs for about 15 years Apple Inc on Monday took the most aggressive step yet to strip Intel Corp chips from its computers, announcing more powerful homegrown Mac processors alongside a total revamp of its MacBook Pro laptop computers. The company showcased the chips at an event called “Unleashed,” which also included its latest audio products. The new components, called the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, are 70 percent faster than its M1 predecessors, Apple said. It also unveiled a redesigned MacBook Pro, adding larger screens, MagSafe charging and better resolution. With the new processors and devices, Apple is aiming squarely at the high-end chips that Intel has
PRICE SPREAD: Oil trading under the Brent futures contract is giving the US a hefty edge in pricing, increasing the rush to secure cheap fuel as winter approaches Asian demand for US oil is rising as the energy crisis boosts prices for other crudes that are priced against the global Brent futures contract. China and other Asian buyers have been snapping up supertankers of US oil for delivery next month and seeking more for December, some traders have said. Most buyers are seeking US grades that had recently slumped to the lowest levels in more than a year, with an added incentive after Beijing awarded millions of tonnes of crude oil import quotas. A wide spread between Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures is accommodating higher US crude
RSS