Taipei, February 17 (CNA) The amount of foreign investment approved for each country under the government's New Southbound Policy, which aims to reduce dependence on China, will be 50% of the total amount of foreign investment approved in Taiwan in January. According to the Taiwanese Ministry, this accounted for more than %. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced this on Saturday.
According to data released by the Ministry's Investment Review Bureau, the amount of investment pledged by Taiwanese companies in each country under the policy totaled about NT$310 million in January, an increase of 29.97% from the same month last year.
Funds pledged to these countries accounted for approximately 57% of the total foreign financing (US$542 million) approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in January.
The New Southbound Policy aims to strengthen trade and exchanges between Taiwan and Southeast Asia, 18 South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand, and reduce Taiwan's dependence on China. This was introduced after President Tsai Ing-wen (Tsai Ing-wen) took office in 2016.
Ministry of Economic Affairs officials said the surge in investment in countries under this policy reflects the government's efforts to diversify investments in Taiwan and forge closer business ties with Taiwan. He said it shows.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia were the top three investment destinations for Taiwanese investors in January.
In the same month, MOEA announced that funds pledged for the Thai market increased 243% year-on-year to NT$49 million, on the back of a large single investment plan worth NT$45 million.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the number of investment plans based on the New Southbound Policy also jumped to 32 in January, an increase of 166.67% from the previous year.
Meanwhile, according to the ministry, the amount of investment approvals for China in January decreased by 66.3% year-on-year to US$95.61 million, and the number of investment approval applications also decreased by 14.81% year-on-year to 23.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, China's support services industry, which includes travel agencies, attracted the largest investment from Taiwan in January at US$16.2 million, ahead of the electronic components sector (US$11.96 million).
According to the MOEA, foreign direct investments approved in January amounted to US$684 million, an increase of 134.62% year-on-year, and the number of approved applications was 185, an increase of 14.91% year-on-year.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Britain pledged the largest amount of investment in Taiwan in January, at US$325.81 million, ahead of Samoa (US$130.45 million).
Although investment in NSB countries increased, the amount of approved investment in Taiwan promised by each country under the New Southbound Policy decreased by 83.21% year-on-year to US$12.38 million in January.
According to the data, the biggest investors in Taiwan from NSB countries were Singapore, Australia and the Philippines.
However, data shows that the number of investment applications from the country under the policy increased by 43.24% year-on-year to 53 in January.
Regarding approved investments from China to Taiwan, the amount in January increased by 245.72% year-on-year to approximately USD 3.05 million, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced, and this surge was relatively low compared to the same period last year. He added that it was due to the bass.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the top three sectors that attracted Chinese investors in January were local wholesale and retail, electronic components and banking.
Since Taiwan lifted its ban on Chinese investment in June 2009, the government has approved about US$2.59 billion in funding from China, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
