Taiwanese companies looking to expand into the US amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom face mounting challenges, including high costs, infrastructure gaps, and legal and talent constraints, although experts say such expansion is increasingly unavoidable.
Speakers at the AIForecast forum in Taipei yesterday said Taiwanese firms should invest in the US, but stressed that execution, rather than timing, would determine success.
Panelists outlined several barriers to establishing operations in the US.
Photo: CNA
Stanford University School of Engineering professor Philip Wong (黃漢森) said some of Taiwan’s key competitive advantages are difficult to replicate overseas.
“The most difficult thing to take overseas is corporate culture,” Wong said, adding that such change “is very hard and a gradual process.”
He highlighted the importance of Taiwan’s deep research and development base, saying that manufacturing requires continuous innovation.
“Manufacturing is not just making a fixed product. It requires continuous improvement and development of the next generation,” he said.
Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association vice chairman Hu Hui-sen (胡惠森) said infrastructure and administrative hurdles were major obstacles.
“In Taiwan, if you want to build a factory, you go to an industrial park where everything is ready, but in the US, the location you choose may not even have a stable power supply,” Hu said.
Delays in securing work visas for engineers have further complicated expansion efforts, he added.
International Artificial Intelligence and Law Research Foundation chairman Chu Chao-min (朱兆民) said companies have to navigate complex regulatory risks.
“If you don’t understand US laws, you may face prosecution,” he said, citing cases involving export controls and cross-border transfers of sensitive technologies.
Despite these challenges, panelists said US expansion is becoming increasingly necessary for Taiwanese firms in the AI era, although success would depend on careful planning and risk management.
“You have to go, but you must find a way to survive first,” Hu said.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
PORTFOLIO REBALANCING: The adjustments in three global equity indices reflect rising investor appetite for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks Taiwan’s weighting in major global equity indices compiled by MSCI Inc is to rise modestly following the latest quarterly review, underscoring the market’s expanding role in emerging-market portfolios, as global investors continue to favor the nation’s technology sector. Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is to increase by 0.30 percentage points to 23.76 percent, after the changes take effect at the close of the May 29 session. Its weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index is to rise 0.37 percentage points to 27.16 percent, while that in the MSCI All Country World Index is to edge up slightly to
The Hsinchu County Government’s Labor Affairs Department yesterday said that it has received a plan from cosmetics brand Taiwan Shiseido Co (台灣資生堂) detailing mass layoffs at its plant in Hukou Township (湖口). While the labor authorities did not disclose the number of employees to be laid off, Japanese news media earlier in the day reported that the closure of the company’s factory in Hukou would result in 170 employees losing their jobs. Shiseido followed the law by reporting its layoff plan, the department said, adding that authorities would closely monitor negotiations between the management and affected employees and step in if any
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Tuesday confirmed a cyberattack targeting some of its North American facilities, but said the affected factories were gradually returning to normal. The company, known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said that its cybersecurity team “activated the response mechanism and implemented operational measures to ensure the continuity of production and delivery.” “The affected factories are resuming normal production,” the company said in a statement. Hon Hai had previously described it as a “technical issue,” when news of the cyberattack first surfaced. The confirmation followed media reports of a large-scale information technology system incident that broke out at
RSS