Foreign investment in research and development (R&D) in Taiwan has exceeded NT$24 billion (US$784.6 million) so far this year, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said on Thursday.
The record-high figure represented an eight-fold increase from the same period in 2018, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping- cheng (羅秉成) cited Su as saying after a meeting with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which presented its report on attracting multinationals to set up R&D centers in Taiwan.
He did not specify the period covered by the R&D investments.
Photo: AFP
About 30 international firms maintain R&D centers in the country, including US chipmaker Micron Technology Inc, German tech giant Merck Group and NXP Semiconductors NV of the Netherlands, the ministry said.
Investments in R&D by foreign businesses in the semiconductor sector in Taiwan totaled NT$30 billion over the past five years, the ministry said in its report.
Moves in international supply chains following the US-China trade dispute, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have drastically disrupted the global supply chain, Su said.
Taiwan’s openness and rule of law, its strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region, advanced semiconductor industry, and government subsidies, tax incentives and supply of talent are what attracted foreign businesses to set up R&D centers in the nation, he added.
During the meeting, Lo said the premier also expressed excitement that more multinational firms have chosen to set up centers in southern Taiwan, such as Google with its data centers in Tainan and Yunlin County.
The investments by foreign firms help create high-quality employment opportunities across the nation, he said, and as more companies establish R&D centers in the country, businesses in related sectors would follow suit, thereby strengthening Taiwan’s supply-chain resilience.
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