Foreign direct investment (FDI) approved by the Investment Commission last year totaled US$11.25 billion, down 15.4 percent from the previous year, but the third-highest since the 2008 global financial crisis.
FDI reached a record US$13.3 billion last year, the highest in 16 years, while the second-highest was in 2018 at US$11.44 billion, the commission said in a report yesterday.
FDI measures the investment activities of foreign firms, including the incorporation of a subsidiary or joint venture, a cash injection into a local unit, or mergers or acquisitions of domestic companies.
Photo: CNA
Despite a setback in FDI last year, foreign companies remain optimistic about Taiwan’s economic prospects, the commission said.
“The average annual FDI was approximately US$10.3 billion from 2016 to 2023, which was much higher than the average of US$5.36 billion from 2008 to 2015, with the top six seen in the past eight years,” the commission said. “This shows that despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tension and global economic uncertainty, Taiwan is still attractive to foreign investments.”
In particular, investments from New Southbound Policy countries increased 22.45 percent annually to US$2.54 billion, led by Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, it said.
Taiwan’s FDI excludes investments from China. The commission last year approved US$29.69 million in investments by Chinese firms, a 23.34 percent decrease from a year earlier and marking the lowest since the government lifted a ban on Chinese investments on June 30, 2009, it said.
The commission last year approved a record US$23.58 billion in outbound investments, excluding to China, representing growth of 136.67 percent from the previous year.
That included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) investments of US$8 billion in TSMC Arizona Corp and 3.5 billion euros (US$3.83 billion) in European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co GmbH in Germany; Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s (鴻海精密) investment of US$800 million in Foxconn Singapore Pte Ltd; and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp’s (陽明海運) investment of US$800 million on Yang Ming Line (Singapore) Pte Ltd, the commission said.
Outbound investments to China plunged 39.83 percent year-on-year to US$3.04 billion last year, the lowest since 2002, while those to New Southbound Policy countries grew 5.15 percent to US$5.54 billion, which the commission attributed to local firms’ increasing investments in Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
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