Taiwan's fixed investments forecast to grow 6% in 2019

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) Taiwan's fixed investments are expected to grow by an annual 6 percent in 2019, given the increasing number of returning Taiwanese companies and the efforts by the local semiconductor sector to upgrade its technologies, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Tuesday.

MOEA data showed that fixed investments in Taiwan are likely to exceed NT$4 trillion this year, an increase of 6 percent from 2018 after inflationary adjustments and the highest annual growth since 2011.

In the first half of this year, Taiwan's fixed investments grew 7.2 percent from a year earlier in real terms, driven by an increase in investments by returning overseas-based Taiwanese companies that are seeking to avoid the effects of the trade war between the United States and China, the MOEA said, citing data from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

In addition, the government's forward-looking infrastructure development plan and Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturers' massive investment in high-end technology processes are expected to help drive the 2019 growth of fixed investments, the MOEA said.

Under the Special Budget Statute for Forward-Looking Infrastructure, which was passed in 2017, the Cabinet can spend up to NT$420 billion over a four-year period on national infrastructure.

The plan covers a wide range of projects, including rail transport construction, water improvement, green energy development, digital development, urban and rural development, child care environment improvement, and food safety improvement.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, is expected to spend more than NT$330 billion this year to develop sophisticated 7 and 5 nanometer processes, which is forecast to boost private investments in Taiwan, the MOEA said.

In 2018, Taiwan's fixed investments grew by an annual 2.5 percent in real terms to NT$3.7 trillion, the ministry noted.

It said that since 2014, the private sector has become the main contributor to the country's fixed investments, accounting for more than 80 percent of the total, with the manufacturing industry in the lead.

In 2017, fixed investments by Taiwanese manufacturers hit NT$1.6 trillion, making up 45.2 percent of the total, according to the MOEA.

Last year, among the companies listed on the local equity market, TSMC was at the top with NT$298.1 billion in fixed investments, the ministry said.