The number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects and the value of capital investment in the nation in the first 11 months of this year fell by a double-digit percentage from the same period last year as global investment plummeted due to containment measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Investment Commission said.
From January to last month, the number of FDI projects approved stood at 2,448, down 22.46 percent from a year earlier, while capital investment declined 17.57 percent to US$6.718 billion, commission data showed.
The financial services and banking, wholesale and retail, information and communications technology (ICT), electronic components and real-estate sectors were the major recipients of FDI during the first 11 months of the year.
However, while the ICT sector experienced a surge of 99.58 percent of capital inflows from the same period last year, the flows to the other sectors all fell, the data showed.
The commission said COVID-19 continued to impact investment, including business travel and economic activity, causing both the number of FDI projects and capital investment to slide.
Meanwhile, the number of investments from nations covered by the government’s New Southbound Policy also declined, with 480 approved in the first 11 months of the year, down 0.41 percent year-on-year.
However, the value of investment from those nations increased 172.45 percent to US$962.13 million in the first 11 months, the commission said.
The growth was mostly due to larger investments from Thailand, Singapore and Australia, including a NT$8.55 billion (US$308.24 million) investment by Cal-Comp Electronics and Communications Co Ltd (泰金寶) of Thailand and a NT$2.99 billion investment by Singapore’s Empyrion Ed Pte Ltd, it said.
During the 11-month period, investment from China fell to 37 cases, a drop of 56.47 percent year-on-year, while total investment was US$46.05 million, down 62.86 percent, the data showed.
In terms of outbound investment by Taiwanese firms, 371 cases were approved, down 21.73 percent year-on-year.
Total investment was US$9.72 billion, up 22.69 percent year-on-year mainly as a result of larger investments, such as GlobalWafers Inc’s (環球晶圓) US$2.5 billion investment in Germany’s Siltronics AG.
The increase in outbound investment reflects Taiwanese businesses scrambling for a share of the profits from the reshuffling of supply chains worldwide as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the commission said.
Outbound investments to nations covered by the New Southbound Policy fell 28.48 percent year-on-year to 113 cases in the first 11 months, but total value surged by 115.55 percent year-on-year, with Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand the main destinations.
Meanwhile, outward investment in China decreased by 12.81 percent year-on-year to 388 cases and dropped in value by 14.47 percent to US$4.79 billion.
The decline shows Taiwanese businesses taking a more cautious approach toward investing in China due to the volatile business environment as a result of a trade dispute between Beijing and Washington, the commission said.
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