Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Four Taiwanese firms with operations in China are planning to shift some of their investments to Taiwan to avoid the impact from trade disputes between the United States and China, and the total amount they plan to invest will be around NT$17 billion (US$552 million), according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
The four companies -- Long Chen Paper Co., broadband connection device provider Sercomm Corp., contact lens maker Unicon Taiwan, and a printed circuit board (PCB) supplier which declined to be identified -- are expected to create 3,300 new jobs, according to the MOEA.
They are the latest group of Taiwanese investors operating overseas, who have responded to the MOEA's call to return to Taiwan.
The ministry launched incentives in January to encourage Taiwanese firms to return to the country to invest at a time of trade friction between Washington and Beijing.
The trade dispute could seriously hurt Taiwanese firms manufacturing in China, because the products they export to the U.S. will face higher tariffs.
Taiwan's incentives include giving the returning companies easier access to bank loans and a simplified process of recruiting migrant workers, as well as services tailored to their needs.
Among the four companies, Long Chen Paper is planning to pour NT$7 billion over the next three years to expand its production compound in Erlin Township of Changhua County. The Washington-Beijing trade dispute has resulted in rising raw material prices and an imbalance in demand and supply of raw material, the MOEA said.
It said the investment will upgrade Long Chen's production technology by installing new machinery and adding automation production lines and smart production equipment.
Long Chen Paper said earlier this week that the company will buy a paper making machine with an annual production capacity of 200,000 metric tons to boost the capacity of the Erlin plant to 850,000 metric tons each year.
Unicon, meanwhile, is planning to invest NT$1.2 billion to add eight contact lens production lines in Taichung Precision Machinery Park.
Sercomm, the broadband equipment supplier, and the PCB maker are expected to invest NT$8.8 billion in total, but both companies have declined to disclose details of their planned investments, the MOEA said.
Sercomm will expand the production capacity in its plant located in Chunan of Miaoli County, while the PCB firm aims to add high-end production lines and build a new plant in Taiwan.
According to the MOEA, in the past three months since it launched the incentive program, it has approved investment applications submitted by a total of 18 Taiwanese firms, including the latest four, with the investment amount totalling NT$57 billion, which is expected to add nearly 7,700 new jobs for the local market.
The MOEA said an additional 50 firms have expressed their interest to the ministry to return to Taiwan and are accessing the feasibility of doing so.
(By Liao Yu-yang, Wei Shu and Frances Huang)
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