Taiwan’s investment ranking rose one position to No. 3, with major risk factors improving compared with the previous assessment in December last year, a report by US-based Business Environment Risk Intelligence SA (BERI) said.
Taiwan scored a higher profit opportunity recommendation of 62, up from 60 in December, tracking behind Norway and Switzerland among the 50 countries assessed by BERI. South Korea was also 62, matching Taiwan’s investment ranking and grade of 1C.
Taiwan is expected to retain the No. 3 position next year, with the score rising slightly to 63, it said.
Photo: AP
BERI issues three investment assessment reports every April, August and December. Three key indicators are used to gauge a country’s investment risk: operations risk, political risk, and a remittance and repatriation factor, or foreign exchange risk.
Taiwan advanced one position in its operations risk ranking to No. 2, next only to the US and better than all its Asian trade competitors, including South Korea at No. 5, China at No. 15 and Singapore at No. 18, the report showed.
Taiwan scored 65 in this category, up from 63 in December.
In operations risk, Taiwan improved in 11 sub-categories, including economic growth, contract execution, and labor cost and productivity, giving it a top 5 ranking.
Taiwan received an improved score of 42 in political risk, up from 38 in December, placing it at No. 24, the report showed.
Taiwan lagged behind its major Asian competitors in this category. Singapore ranked No. 3, while China and Japan ranked No. 5 and No. 7 respectively.
In foreign exchange risk, Taiwan placed No. 1, holding its score of 80 from December, given its excellent foreign exchange reserves, foreign debt and international reserve. South Korea placed at No. 7, Singapore and Japan tied at No. 8 and China placed at No. 12.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, booked its first-ever profit from its Arizona subsidiary in the first half of this year, four years after operations began, a company financial statement showed. Wholly owned by TSMC, the Arizona unit contributed NT$4.52 billion (US$150.1 million) in net profit, compared with a loss of NT$4.34 billion a year earlier, the statement showed. The company attributed the turnaround to strong market demand and high factory utilization. The Arizona unit counts Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc among its major customers. The firm’s first fab in Arizona began high-volume production
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: The Japanese company is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence linchpins Nvidia Corp and TSMC Softbank Group Corp agreed to buy US$2 billion of Intel Corp stock, a surprise deal to shore up a struggling US name while boosting its own chip ambitions. The Japanese company, which is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence (AI) linchpins Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), is to pay US$23 a share — a small discount to Intel’s last close. Shares of the US chipmaker, which would issue new stock to Softbank, surged more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Softbank’s stock fell as much as 5.4 percent on Tuesday in Tokyo, its
COLLABORATION: Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture would make AI data center equipment, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) would operate a US factory owned by Softbank Group Corp, setting up what is in the running to be the first manufacturing site in the Japanese company’s US$500 billion Stargate venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. Softbank is acquiring Hon Hai’s electric-vehicle plant in Ohio, but the Taiwanese company would continue to run the complex after turning it into an artificial intelligence (AI) server production plant, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said yesterday. Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies would make AI data
The Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show, which is to be held from Wednesday to Saturday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, would showcase the latest in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robotics and automation technologies, the organizer said yesterday. The event would highlight applications in smart manufacturing, as well as information and communications technology, the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association said. More than 1,000 companies are to display innovations in semiconductors, electromechanics, industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, it said in a news release. Visitors can explore automated guided vehicles, 3D machine vision systems and AI-powered applications at the show, along