In October, a delegation from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) came to the United States on a mission to seek foreign investment and talent. The week-long tour took the delegates, who represented 32 high-tech companies and Taoyuan county, through New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
The trip was a successful one, as MOEA secured investment agreements for US$200 million over the next three years. The agreements were with Celgene Corp, Google Inc., Keysign Technologies Inc., and S-Cubed Inc. Director-General of MOEA Lien Yu-ping described the successful investment deals as a “home run” for Taiwan.
Celgene, a biotech firm, plans to invest $13.2 million to expand clinical cancer research. Semi-conductor equipment supplier S-Cubed will establish its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Taiwan, at a cost of about $16 million. Keysight Technologies, a precision instrument firm, plans to continue its business in Taiwan and make an additional investment of $18 million. Google, whose regional data center is in central Taiwan’s Changhua County, will spend $65 million to increase development in Taiwan of its signature softwares, Chrome and Android.
Taiwan’s manufacturing and technology industries are closely tied to some of the US’s most important companies, such as Apple. Taiwan’s exports increased 13.4% from August and September for a total of $43.31 billion, a 12.7% growth since September 2013. Much of Taiwan’s export growth was due to the iPhone 6 and 6plus roll-out in September as many of Taiwan’s companies create iPhone components and lead manufacturing. Since Taiwan and US high-tech industries already work closely together, in an effort to continue strong collaboration and compatibility, Taiwan also sought US talent through two job fairs in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, showcasing a total of 530 openings.
As part of the trip, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) held the first ever Taiwan Excellence Showcase in the US in New York City. Located in Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, the exhibition displayed 150 award-winning products from more than 65 Taiwanese brands recognized for their innovation and value through the “Excellence” award. The event was intended to drive up awareness among investors about the robust portfolio of products that Taiwan has expertise in manufacturing.
Melissa Newcomb recently graduated from American University SIS and is a Research Intern at the East-West Center in Washington, D.C.