10 foreign companies sign letters of intent to invest in Taiwan

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) Ten foreign companies have signed letters with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taipei, confirming their intention to invest nearly NT$90 billion (US$2.85 billion) in Taiwan over the next three years.

The signings came at an annual global investment forum in Taiwan and were announced Monday by Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花).

The 10 companies included French industrial gas company Air Liquide; Lam Research Corp., an American manufacturer of equipment used to make semiconductors; and Nitto Denko Corp. a Japanese manufacturer of insulating materials, Wang said.

Air Liquide Far Eastern, a joint venture established in 1987 by the Air Liquide Group and Taiwan Far Eastern Group, and U.S. industrial gas company Air Products plan to expand their factories in Taiwan, Wang said. (Photo Credit: MOE)

Meanwhile, Japan's Fujifilm Electronic Materials will build a factory in Taiwan for advanced manufacturing, while Lam Research will build an R&D center for high-end technologies, and British semiconductor company IQE plans to expand its R&D facility in Hsinchu.

Others intending to expand their presence in Taiwan include U.S. e-commerce company Coupang, Japanese retailer Muji, and Zacros, Japan's leading manufacturer of single-use bags, according to the MOEA.

The letters represent concrete actions taken by the 10 companies that show their confidence in Taiwan's investment environment, Wang said, estimating their potential investment in Taiwan at nearly NT$90 billion over the next three years.

Over the past three years, international companies have invested more than US$3.3 billion in Taiwan, according to Wang.