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.
Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soaring and triggering fears of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights. Airlines are not waiting for a lack of supplies to react. “Travel alert: Airlines are cutting thousands of flights right now,” Travel Therapy host Karen Schaler said in an Instagram reel this past weekend.
MANAGING RISKS: Taiwan has secured LNG sufficient to cover 95 percent of electricity demand for next month, UBS said, describing the government’s approach as proactive UBS Group AG has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent previously, and said expansion could reach as high as 8.6 percent if external energy shocks are avoided. The upgrade reflects a stronger-than-expected first-quarter performance and sustained momentum in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven exports, which UBS said are providing a firm foundation for growth despite geopolitical and energy risks. Taiwan’s GDP expanded 13.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the fastest growth since the second quarter of 1987, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Thursday. On a seasonally
The list of Asian stocks that benefit from business partnership with Nvidia Corp is getting longer, as the region further integrates into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant’s business ecosystem. Just in the past week, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), as well as China’s Huizhou Desay SV Automotive Co (德賽西威) and Pateo Connect Technology Shanghai Corp (博泰車聯) have become the latest to rally on news of tie-ups, supply-chain participation or product collaboration with the US chip designer. Asian suppliers account for about 90 percent of Nvidia’s production costs, up from about 65 percent last year, data compiled
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted