Taipei,Oct.9,2012(CENS)--To bolster Taiwan's economy,the Ministry of Economic Affairs(MOEA)held 2012 Taiwan Business Alliance Conference yesterday(Oct.8),successfully soliciting investment commitment of NT$126 billion from 61 prospective investors.Of them,13 foreign firms have signed letter of intent(LOI)for investment with the MOEA,pledging to invest NT$85 billion in Taiwan in two to three years,which will generate 7,510 job vacancies.
Speaking at the conference,President Ma Ying-jeou said that the government is willing to adopt more favorable policies to attract foreign investments.Under the auspices of cross-Taiwan Strait Economic Cooperative Framework Agreement(ECFA),foreign firms can utilize Taiwan as a bridge to access the markets of mainland China and other countries.The attraction of Taiwan to foreign firms lies in high-quality education and excellent technical talent.According to the report of the OECD(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development),the ratio of Taiwana??s overall R&D outlays reaches 16.8%,higher than that of Singapore and Hong Kong.
The MOEA pointed out that 13 foreign firms which have signed LOI hail mainly from Europe,the U.S.,and Japan.Eight of them are service firms,mainly in the fields of technical service,wholesale/retail,and financial service.They committed to invest NT$51.6 billion,averaging NT$6.45 billion per company,capable of generating 2,880 job vacancies.The other five companies are manufacturing firms,mainly in the fields of chemical materials and machinery,with their projected investments totaling NT$33.2 billion.
Chiu Yi-che,director of the Department of Investment Services,the MOEA,noted that in addition to solicitation of prospective investors,the MOEA has also provided information and other assistances to existing foreign firms in Taiwan.
An MOEA official remarked that despite the complaint about the shortage of tax incentives,many foreign firms have still decided to invest in Taiwan,since Taiwan can serve as the base for them to tap the mainland Chinese market.
Chiu reported that the MOEA has set up a single window to help foreign firms solve investment-related problems,including the obtaining of land and environment impact assessment.