Taiwan yesterday welcomed an act proposed by the EU that aims to enable the bloc to work more closely with global leaders in the semiconductor industry, such as Taiwan.
On Tuesday, the European Commission unveiled the proposed European chips act, which neutralizes strict rules governing state aid to encourage companies such as Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to build more microprocessors in the region.
Under the act, the commission plans to allocate 11 billion euros (US$12.58 billion) in public funds for the research, design and manufacture of semiconductors, with the goal of mobilizing a total of 43 billion euros of public and private investment until 2030 to expand the EU’s global market share of semiconductors from its current 9 percent to 20 percent.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) yesterday expressed the government’s receptiveness toward the proposal, which could enhance Taiwan-EU cooperation in bilateral investment and trade.
The ministry believes there is tremendous room for cooperation between Taiwan and the EU in the semiconductor industry, reconstructing the global supply chain and bolstering democratic resilience in the post-COVID-19 era, Ou said.
Taiwan is ready to explore innovative measures to continue to deepen collaboration with the EU and its member states, based on existing communication channels, she added.
As stated in the act, only two companies in the world, one being TSMC, are capable of manufacturing the most advanced semiconductors.
“As a first step, the above will be explored — using existing or new fora — with like-minded partners, such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and others,” the act says.
At a press event to unveil the act on Tuesday, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager and European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton lauded Taiwan’s leading position in the semiconductor industry, while reiterating the EU’s offer to TSMC to invest in Europe.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
RSS