The value of foreign direct investments (FDIs) approved by the government rose in the first three months of this year by more than 125 percent from a year earlier, as funds were poured into green energy projects along with Hitachi Ltd’s stake in a Taiwanese elevator supplier, the Investment Commission said on Wednesday.
Approved FDI from January to last month totaled US$2.75 billion, up 125.61 percent from a year earlier, while the number of approved FDI applications fell 15.36 percent from last year to 562, the data showed.
The surge in FDI came after Denmark-based energy developer Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners K/S (CIP) applied to invest NT$10.56 billion (US$360.9 million) in CI Changfang Ltd (哥本哈根基礎設施彰芳), which develops offshore wind energy in Changhua County, the commission said.
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Additionally, Hitachi was approved to purchase about 29 percent of elevator brand Yungtay Engineering Co (永大機電) for NT$24.67 billion, and to bring the Taiwanese company entirely under its corporate umbrella, it said.
Countries included in the government’s New Southbound Policy — primarily Singapore, Thailand and Australia — secured commission approval to collectively invest NT$254 million in Taiwan during the three-month period, up 56.58 percent from a year earlier, the commission said.
However, the number of approved applications from policy countries fell 8.53 percent from a year earlier to 118, it said.
Approved Chinese investments in Taiwan were down 54.59 percent from a year earlier, totaling US$6.52 million in the three months, reflecting a relatively high comparison base over the same period last year, it said.
Foreign-bound investments from Taiwanese investors rose in value by 62.64 percent from a year earlier to US$2.03 billion in the first three months of this year.
The increase came after the commission permitted cloud infrastructure provider Wiwynn Corp (緯穎科技) to invest US$400 million in the US, and allowed Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) to invest about NT$6 billion for a 10 percent stake in South Korea’s credit company Hyundai Card Co, the commission said.
Approved Taiwanese investments in New Southbound Policy countries fell 15.51 percent during the three months from a year earlier to about US$720 million, with most of the funds bound for Australia, Cambodia and Vietnam, it said.
Approved China-bound investments were up 31.83 percent at US$846 million from a year earlier, with Shanghai, as well as Jiangsu, Fujian, Guangdong and Sichuan provinces, as the top destinations, it said.
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