The Investment Commission approved a 15-year-high US$13.3 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, it said in a statement yesterday.
The value of FDI projects approved last year was the third-highest on record, it said.
The commission attributed the 77.94 percent year-on-year increase to substantial investments by overseas green and offshore wind energy companies.
Photo courtesy of Orsted Taiwan
The commission said it approved 2,566 FDI projects last year, representing a 5.35 percent year-on-year decline.
In terms of outbound investment by Taiwanese individuals and businesses in nations excluding China, the commission said it signed off on 546 proposals valued at US$9.96 billion last year.
That marked a 35.15 percent year-on-year increase in the number of projects, but a 20.93 percent decline in value.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
Among the major outbound investments last year were US$2.12 billion spent by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) to establish a subsidiary, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc, and a US$1 billion capital injection by MediaTek Inc (聯發科) in MediaTek Investment Singapore Pte Ltd.
The commission said it approved 481 projects valued at US$2.07 billion from investors in the 18 nations targeted by the New Southbound Policy, representing a 9.07 percent decline in the number of projects, but a 107.23 percent increase in value compared with 2021.
The commission approved 169 cases valued at US$5.27 billion of outbound Taiwanese investments in New Southbound Policy nations last year.
That represented a 39.76 percent year-on-year increase in the number of projects, but a 9.55 percent decline in value, it said.
The biggest investors from New Southbound Policy nations were Australian, Singaporean and Thai, the commission said.
In terms of Chinese investments in Taiwan, the number of projects approved by the commission, 46, dropped by 6.12 percent compared with 2021.
However, the value of Chinese investments decreased by 66.73 percent to US$38.72 million, it said.
The commission said it approved 372 applications totaling US$5.04 billion of Taiwanese investments in China last year.
That represented a 13.92 percent year-on-year decline in value and a 12.06 percent decrease in the number of projects compared with 2021, it said.
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