Taiwan is seeking to boost bilateral trade cooperation with the Czech Republic, targeting semiconductors, information and communication technology and electric vehicles (EVs), Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
The ministry is working on several projects with the Czech Republic, including offering semiconductor programs, scholarships and collaboration on research and development, Wang told reporters on the sidelines of the 18th session of the Taiwan-Czech Joint Business Council meeting in Taipei.
“We are pondering how to deepen collaboration with the Czech Republic in those areas, as Taiwanese enterprises are redeploying supply chain networks in response to the recent [geopolitical] situation,” Wang said.
Photo: Reuters
“The Czech Republic considers Taiwan an ideal partner in those areas,” she said.
A Taiwanese EV company plans to expand its investment in the Czech Republic, Wang said, without disclosing the company’s name.
MIH Consortium chief executive officer Jack Cheng (鄭顯聰) attended the meeting, where he discussed the state of global EV development.
MIH is an EV alliance led by Taiwanese manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), which has had production lines in the Czech Republic since 2000.
Wang yesterday met a 160-member Czech delegation, led by Czech Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marketa Pekarova Adamova.
To facilitate bilateral cooperation, Taiwan plans to open a new round of trade and technology meetings in September, focusing on trade, investment and a wide range of industrial cooperation on semiconductors, smart machinery, EVs, cybersecurity and “smart” city projects, the ministry said.
Collaboration in science, research and innovation would also be on the agenda, it said.
Labor shortages and a lengthy process to apply for investment incentives are two major concerns for Taiwanese companies, it said.
Taiwanese businesses, most of which are involved in electronics, have invested US$1.2 billion in the Czech Republic, the ministry said.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for