Foreign investment in Taiwan soars on major deals despite small Chinese presence

Taiwan’s foreign investment approval surged by 78% in the first seven months of 2023, driven by significant deals in semiconductors and renewable energy, with Chinese investment remaining minimal.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said approved foreign investment in the first seven months of this year rose sharply from a year earlier, lifted by a handful of large deals. Through July, approved offshore capital inflows reached US$13.92 billion, up 78.13% year on year, while July alone accounted for 226 approved cases worth US$5.02 billion, according to the ministry’s investment review department.

The biggest transaction was a capital injection linked to Micron. The ministry said Singapore-based Micron Semiconductor Asia Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in Taiwan Micron Memory by about US$7.45 billion through debt conversion. Another major approval involved Dutch company MIT HAI LONG WIND POWER B.V., which injected about US$1.05 billion into Yushan Energy, underlining continued interest in Taiwan’s high-tech and renewable-energy sectors.

Newly established foreign-funded companies also remained active, with 144 approvals in July worth about US$6.11 million. By contrast, mainland Chinese investment stayed very small. The ministry said July brought three approved Chinese investment cases worth US$2.61 million, bringing the January-to-July total to 12 cases and US$4.07 million, down 95.97% from a year earlier.

The latest figures fit a pattern of uneven foreign direct investment flows into Taiwan, where large one-off transactions can dominate the totals. Invest Taiwan’s earlier monthly breakdowns for 2023 showed that approved inflows had moved in the opposite direction for much of that year, with investment amounts falling through July even as outbound Taiwanese investment rose strongly. Its separate data also showed Taiwan expanding investment in markets such as Vietnam, where manufacturing remained the main destination.