Taipei, July 19 (CNA) Another four Taiwanese companies have pledged to boost their investment in Taiwan amid the trade friction between the United States and China, raising total pledges to more than NT$450 billion (US$14.52 billion) so far this year.
The four companies have promised to increase their investment in Taiwan by more than NT$8.2 billion in total, which is expected to create an additional 2,000 jobs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Friday .
They are electro-acoustic product supplier Merry Electronics Co., paper product manufacturer Cheng Loong Corp., power management solution provider AcBel Polytech Inc., and an optoelectronics maker that has asked not to be identified, the MOEA said.
The planned investments by the four companies have raised the total amount pledged under an MOEA program to encourage overseas Taiwanese companies to return home or invest more in their existing operations in Taiwan to NT$452 billion from 93 companies, the MOEA said.
The incentive program was launched in January, and the investments already pledged are expected to create more than 42,100 new jobs, the MOEA has estimated.
The ministry created the incentive program to encourage Taiwanese companies that have shifted all or part of their operations overseas in recent decades, especially to China, to invest more in Taiwan to avoid high U.S. duties on products made in China.
The incentives offered include easier access to bank loans and a simplified process to recruit migrant workers, as well as services tailored to their needs.
The MOEA said Merry, a major supplier to international brands, has about 98 percent of its total production in China, and 42 percent of its products are sold to the U.S. market, so it had to find a way to lessen the impact of higher duties.
Merry will invest more than NT$2.2 billion to set up a research and development hub and an experimental plant in Taichung, the MOEA said, an investment expected to create 533 job openings.
The ministry said Cheng Loong, a supplier of packaging materials to Apple Inc., has continued to consolidate its production in China and decided to expand its capacity in Taiwan by investing more than NT$2 billion to build a new plant in Kaohsiung.
AcBel Polytech, one of the top 10 power management solution ODM and OEM services suppliers in the world, will follow is clients' lead to avoid the pinch from the global trade disputes with a proposed investment of about NT$2.5 billion in Taiwan.
The MOEA said the investment, expected to create almost 1,300 new jobs, aims to boost the production of high-end items at its headquarters located in Tamsui in northern Taiwan.
The anonymous optoelectronics maker, the MOEA said, is planning to invest more than NT$1 billion in central Taiwan to expand its high-end production capacity.
