Premier Su Tseng-chang on Thursday received a Ministry of Economic Affairs briefing on three major investment programs designed to attract investments from not only overseas Taiwanese businesses but also large corporations that have never relocated to China as well as locally based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In all three programs, the government will pay banks a service fee for providing companies with the necessary business capital, which in turn will encourage the companies to invest in Taiwan. The first program is a new iteration of the action plan to draw overseas Taiwanese businesses to invest back home, wherein the government will raise the amount of available loans from NT$20 billion (US$638 million) to NT$500 billion (US$15.9 billion). The second program will provide NT$80 billion (US$2.6 billion) in loans to help domestic corporations deepen their roots in Taiwan. The third program will accelerate investments by SMEs.
Additionally, all three programs offer customized, single-window service to help companies deal with land acquisition, water and electricity usage, and taxation issues. These measures will give companies greater confidence to invest more broadly in Taiwan, the premier said.
Touting progress on the action plan to bring back overseas Taiwanese businesses, the premier said the 73 companies that have passed review so far are expected to bring in investments totaling NT$375 billion (US$12 billion) and create over 34,100 job opportunities. This investment figure represents a tenfold increase from only three months prior, shattering the annual target ahead of time and enabling the government to double the target to NT$500 billion.
The agencies administering these programs must show the business community and the public in concrete terms the government's resolve and strategy for transforming the economy, the premier said. Aside from reviewing the applications efficiently, the agencies must ensure that the entire process is flexible, in keeping with modern practices, and adjustable wherever required.