Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Taiwan fell to US$9.14 billion last year, down 18.32 percent from 2019, the Investment Commission said yesterday.
The government last year approved 3,418 FDI projects, down 17 percent from a year earlier, it said.
“Although total investment fell last year, the figure was still the sixth-highest on record,” it said in a release.
Last year saw the fourth-highest FDI value in the past 10 years, after US$11.4 billion in 2018, US$11.2 billion in 2019 and US$11 billion in 2016, it said.
“The commission still considers it a vote of confidence by foreign investors in Taiwan,” it said.
UN Conference on Trade and Development statistics showed that FDI decreased by up to 40 percent worldwide last year, while Taiwan only saw a moderate decrease thanks to its success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, the commission said.
Commission data showed that 2,182 foreign companies received approvals to establish branches in Taiwan last year, contributing an aggregate US$590 million.
Investment by companies in countries targeted by the government’s New Southbound Policy totaled 515 cases, 20.16 percent fewer than in 2019, the data showed
In terms of value, they totaled US$380 million, down 65.23 percent from a year earlier, it showed.
Ninety Chinese firms received approvals to invest in Taiwan, down 37 percent from 2019. However, in terms of value, total investment jumped 329.98 percent to US$126 million, the data showed.
The commission approved 475 applications by Taiwanese firms to invest in China, down 22.1 percent from 2019, the data showed
However, in terms of value, total investment rose 41.54 percent to US$5.9 billion, it showed.
Overseas investments by Taiwanese firms surged 72.31 percent to US$11.8 billion, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) investing US$3.5 billion in a factory in Arizona, the commission said.
Additional reporting by CNA
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Taiwan’s property market is entering a freeze, with mortgage activity across the nation’s six largest cities plummeting in the first quarter, H&B Realty Co (住商不動產) said yesterday, citing mounting pressure on housing demand amid tighter lending rules and regulatory curbs. Mortgage applications in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung totaled 28,078 from January to March, a sharp 36.3 percent decline from 44,082 in the same period last year, the nation’s largest real-estate brokerage by franchise said, citing data from the Joint Credit Information Center (JCIC, 聯徵中心). “The simultaneous decline across all six cities reflects just how drastically the market
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer