Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) issued a press release showing that January to September 2023 approved investment to China and foreign countries showed diversified results. Taiwan's investment in China remains sluggish amidst the US-China trade war, while investment to foreign countries has grown significantly.
The government-approved investment to foreign countries reached NT$524.44 billion (US$16.2 billion), a 190% YoY increase, while the investment in China decreased by 17%.
According to the current law, when a company applies to a financial institution for the remittance of funds overseas, it needs to submit a letter of approval from the Department of Investment Review (DIR) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), and therefore the DIR holds a meeting every month to review the cases submitted by the companies and to keep relevant records.
The statistics for the period from January to September 2023 were released on October 20, and the most eye-catching one was TSMC's remission for the construction of its Arizona fab.
According to the DIR, since 2023, TSMC has applied to the government to remit US$8 billion for the use of its Arizona fab. Other large applications include Foxconn's application for US$800 million to be transferred to Foxconn Singapore. A total of 414 applications for outward investment were approved from January to September 2023, with a total amount of US$17.48 billion, or NT$524.4 billion, representing an annual growth rate of 190.06%.
Cross-strait relations have deteriorated amid US-China tension, which is likely to drag on for a long period of time, and the Taiwan government has tightened its control on preventing Chinese capital from poaching talent and acquiring technology through investment, it has also deterred the investment of Chinese businessmen in Taiwan.
Statistics show that from January to September 2023, there were only 21 cases of approved Chinese investments in Taiwan, with a total amount of only US$26.57 million. Since the government opened the door to Chinese investment in Taiwan in 2009, the total amount of approved investment over the past 14 years has only amounted to US$2.59 billion, or about NT$77.78 billion.
