The value of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Taiwan approved by the government in the first nine months of this year surged by more than 150 percent from a year earlier as foreign firms continued their support of local offshore wind development, according to the Investment Commission.
Data compiled by the commission showed that with the government having pushed its green energy policy, including offshore wind development, to attract foreign investors, approved FDI during the January-September period totaled US$11.14 billion, up by 152.19 percent from a year earlier.
During the January-September period, several foreign wind developers obtained the commission’s approval, including Denmark’s Ørsted Wind Power TW Holding A/S for its investment of NT$93.66 billion (US$2.93 billion), and Netherlands-based NP Hai Long Holdings B.V. and Denmark-based CI II Changfang K/S for their plans to pour NT$20.04 billion and NT$10.56 billion, respectively, into local offshore wind development.
In September alone, Netherlands-based Jera Formosa 2 B.V. and Australia’s Macquarie Corporate Holdings Pty Ltd. secured the green light to revise upwards their offshore wind investment plans to NT$3.4 billion and NT$1.8 billion, respectively, from the previously planned NT$938 million and NT$1.04 billion, the commission said.
Also in September, the commission granted approval to Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. and Cayman Island-registered Gogoro Inc. to invest NT$7.37 billion and NT$2.53 billion in Taiwan, the commission added.
The data showed companies from countries under the government’s New Southbound Policy secured approval from the commission to invest US$1.91 billion in Taiwan, up by 224.75 percent from a year earlier.
The commission said the pledged investment mostly came from Australia, Singapore, and Thailand.
The New Southbound Policy aims to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and 18 countries in Southeast and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, in a bid to reduce Taiwan’s dependence on China.
Approved investments in Taiwan by China-based companies, meanwhile, totaled about US$19.25 million in the nine months, down by 34.69 percent from a year earlier, the commission said.
Since Taiwan lifted a ban on Chinese investments in June 2009, the government has approved about US$2.54 billion in funds from China, according to the commission.
As for foreign-bound investments by Taiwanese investors, the approved amount fell by 32.8 percent from a year earlier to US$6.02 billion in the first nine months of the year.
The commission approved a total of US$2.61 billion in investments bound for countries in the New Southbound Policy in the nine months, down by 52.06 percent from a year earlier, with Singapore, Australia and Vietnam being the main destinations of the investments.
Approved China-bound investments rose by 6.53 percent from a year earlier to US$3.04 billion during the nine-month period, the commission said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel