The Executive Yuan announced today that a major program to win back investments from overseas Taiwanese enterprises will be launched in November. The program aims to attract investments of NT$100 billion (US$30.3 billion) per year, generating total production value of NT$303.7 billion (US$10.1 billion) and creating 82,000 jobs locally.
Premier Sean Chen instructed government agencies to extend their full support by spurring domestic investment, enhancing the employability of workers and strengthening foundations for industrial and economic development.
As companies around the world see improved productivity gains, many are considering or have decided to move production out of mainland China due to rising manufacturing costs there. Countries like the United States and South Korea have rolled out incentives to woo these investors back to their home economies, officials said.
In Taiwan, these "reshoring" incentives cover six areas:
1. Labor: Alleviate the shortage of certain labors and bridge the education-employment gap through such measures as raising the foreign workers quota, enhancing career training, cultivating specialized technicians and training internationally competitive software personnel.
2. Land: Provide industrial land-use information through an integrated platform.
3. Taxes: Lower the cost of returning to Taiwan by adjusting tariffs on imported manufacturing equipment.
4. Service: Offer one-stop administrative service.
5. Trade: Boost Taiwan's competitiveness by speeding up follow-up negotiations on the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
6. Loans: Offer special loans of up to NT$10 billion (US$333 million) to make Taiwan more attractive.
Also at today's press conference were leaders from Taiwan's Chinese National Federation of Industries, the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce, Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association, Catcher Technology Co. and Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. The industrial representatives welcomed the well-timed program, noting that its policy direction will promote sustainable growth for Taiwan's industries.