Taiwan Steps Up Economy-Boosting Efforts: Cabinet Approves Incentives to Bring New Investors
Deputy Economics Minister of Taiwan, Cynthia Kiang, announced the approval of the Invest Taiwan 2.0 initiative. The announcement was followed by a press conference on Thursday, where details were publicized in regard to the decision of the cabinet.
This project aims to draw overseas Taiwanese individuals, along with foreign investors and entrepreneurs, to invest in Taiwan. The project is expected to improve the economy of the country and help it recover from its previous economic challenges. Investors will receive support from the Government of Taiwan in the form of loans and subsidies.
A Response to Pressure
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) stated that these newly approved measures are part of a long-standing project called “Invest Taiwan.” The project was originally launched in 2017 as a response to the US-China trade. The first project aimed to encourage companies from Taiwan to relocate their China operations and move them to Taiwan.
The new initiative is an expansion of the old initiative. Invest Taiwan 2.0 is a response to the new reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States, which made trading more difficult. By attracting both Taiwanese and international investors with the right incentives, it is expected that the economy will further improve in the next few decades.
Kiang mentioned that the government will support various industries during this initiative. Areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and military technology are a given, but the government plans to expand its reach further. As such, it will also welcome investors from the service and health sectors.
Goals and Methods
The cabinet’s approval of the Invest Taiwan 2.0 initiative included a slate with numerous business loan and subsidy opportunities. The government plans to attract NT$1.2 trillion worth of corporate investments, which is the equivalent of US$41.62 billion. Given the rapid transformation of global industry, it is expected that the government will offer support to small and medium-sized businesses.
The new plan should launch somewhere in the second half of 2025 and create 80,000 more job opportunities over the following three years. This will solidify Taiwan’s position within the supply chain.
The measures to attract investors include loans up to NT$720 over the next three years. It also involves loan service fee subsidies that range from 0.3% to 1%. This is an improvement from the previous subsidies, which went between 0.1% to 0.7%.
These fees would be reimbursed by the National Development Fund, along with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund, according to the Department of Investment Promotion Director-General Emile Chan. The investments are expected from more than 1,600 companies, which would upgrade the nation’s “five trusted industries.”
As of last month, a total of 335 applications for the original program have already been approved after being reviewed. This filled out a workforce gap of almost 5,000 local workers, while bringing in 5,7 million migrant workers. This allowed the Ministry to keep assisting local and foreign businesses where labor was previously a problem.
