International
support

In more than 90 countries

Taiwan, China

Key data Change country

Invest

Foreign Direct Investment

According to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2024, FDI flows to Taiwan reached USD 10.1 billion in 2023, almost doubling the level recorded one year earlier. At the end of the same period, the total stock of inward FDI stood at about USD 130.1 billion. Taiwan was also the 15th-largest economy in terms of outward investment in 2023, with FDI outflows totalling USD 24.7 billion (+58.5% y-o-y). Between 2020 and 2023, only 5% of Taiwan’s total outbound FDI projects were directed to China, a stark decline from the 42% observed between 2012 and 2015, and the 23% between 2016 and 2019, as reported by fDi Markets. Concurrently, Taiwanese companies amplified their investments in both India and Vietnam, which together accounted for nearly a quarter of total outbound FDI projects during the same period. As of 2023, the United States ranks as Taiwan's second-largest source of FDI, following the Netherlands. According to MOEA statistics, in 2024, 2,221 FDI projects totalling USD 7.86 billion were approved, marking a 3.85% drop in cases and a 30.18% decline in value from 2023. FDI from Mainland China reached 36 cases worth USD 297.2 million, up 20% in cases and 901% in value from 2023. From July 2009 to December 2024, Taiwan approved 1,622 Chinese investment projects totaling USD 2.89 billion.

Taiwan remains a key player in regional and global trade and investment, ranking among the world’s top 20 economies by GDP. It is central to global high-tech supply chains, driven by strong semiconductor, 5G, AI, and IoT industries, and benefits from regional economic dynamism, a population with high purchasing power, a strategic location, and the prominence of high-tech. On the other hand, structural impediments in Taiwan’s investment environment include excessive or inconsistent regulation, market influence wielded by domestic and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) across utilities, energy, postal, transportation, financial, and real estate sectors, as well as foreign ownership restrictions in sectors considered sensitive. Foreign entities have the right to establish entities, own business enterprises, and participate in all forms of remunerative activity in Taiwan, akin to local firms, unless stipulated otherwise in pertinent regulations. Notably, Taiwan imposes foreign ownership constraints in specific industries, such as a 60% limit on foreign ownership of wireless and fixed-line telecommunications firms, which includes a direct foreign investment cap of 49% in the sector. Moreover, in recent years authorities have tightened FDI screening to prevent circumvention by PRC firms and introduced its first core technology list, identifying 22 technologies across five sectors—defence, space, agriculture, semiconductors, and information security—for enhanced protection in December 2023. Taiwan has a thriving business environment: the country ranks 8th in the World Competitiveness Ranking, 4th out of 184 countries on the latest Index of Economic Freedom, and 18th globally in the IMD World Talent Ranking.

 
 
Foreign Direct Investment 202020212022
FDI Inward Flow (million USD) 6,0535,41610,189
FDI Stock (million USD) 110,746127,065137,254
Number of Greenfield Investments* 728173
Value of Greenfield Investments (million USD) 3,0614,6492,648

Source: UNCTAD - Latest available data.

Note: * Greenfield Investments are a form of Foreign Direct Investment where a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up.

Country Comparison For the Protection of Investors Taiwan, China East Asia & Pacific United States Germany
Index of Transaction Transparency* 9.0 5.9 7.0 5.0
Index of Manager’s Responsibility** 5.0 5.2 9.0 5.0
Index of Shareholders’ Power*** 7.0 6.7 9.0 5.0

Source: Doing Business - Latest available data.

Note: *The Greater the Index, the More Transparent the Conditions of Transactions. **The Greater the Index, the More the Manager is Personally Responsible. *** The Greater the Index, the Easier it Will Be For Shareholders to Take Legal Action.

+

What to consider if you invest in Taiwan, China

Strong Points

Advantages for FDI in Taiwan include:

  • The country has a very internationally oriented economy and the trade balance is largely in surplus
  • A strategic geographical location: the country is a gateway to China and to the ASEAN markets
  • Taiwan has a large industrial base (being for example the 4th largest electronics producer in the world) and strong R&D capacity (supported by public spending)
  • Robust external financial position
  • Support for R&D through public expenditure
  • The workforce is abundant, skilled and affordable
  • The financial markets are booming and present many opportunities for foreign investors.
  • Overall, the business environment is very positive and Taiwan ranked in the 15th place in the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report is a good indication of its strengths.
Weak Points

With an export-oriented economy, Taiwan is dependent on the global economy and is particularly vulnerable to the development of trade with China and the USA, its main trading partners. Some of the disadvatages for the FDI include :

  • Lack of a direct channel of communication with Mainland China
  • Reduced size of the domestic market, which considerably limits local opportunities
  • Poorly protected intellectual property
  • A lack of diversity in the economy (low competitiveness of the services sector for example)
  • Delays of infrastructure projects compared to other advanced Asian economies.
Government Measures to Motivate or Restrict FDI
Taiwan welcomes and actively promotes foreign direct investment. Local authorities offer investment incentives and support to foreign investors in the form of tax incentives, tariff exemptions, low-interest loans, R&D subsidies and other favourable terms.

Current regulations provide preferential tax incentives to foreign professionals employed in Taiwan, and are aimed at improving the overall environment for recruiting and attracting professionals from other countries (Foreign Talent Retention Act). A network of science and industrial parks, export processing zones, and free trade zones has been developed. Furthermore, in 2019 Taiwan launched a reshoring incentive program to attract Taiwan firms operating in mainland China to return to Taiwan, receiving positive responses from ICT manufacturers.

The national agency Invest Taiwan is responsible for promoting investments and acts as a single-window service provider. For investments of over NTD 500 million (around USD 17 million), the authorities will assign a dedicated project manager to the investment process.

+

Investment Opportunities

The Key Sectors of the National Economy
Finance, wholesale and retail, and electronics sectors.
High Potential Sectors
Advanced technology, digital, traditional manufacturing, and services sectors.
Privatization Programmes
There are no privatization programs in progress. As of 2020, there are 17 state-owned companies with stakes by the central authorities exceeding 50%. Taiwan authorities retain control over some formerly state enterprises that have been privatized (often through the appointments of the boards of directors), including: Chunghwa Telecom, China Steel, China Airlines, Taiwan Fertilizer, Taiwan Salt, CSBC Corporation (shipbuilding), Yang Ming Marine Transportation, and eight public banks.
n August 2017, Taiwan authorities identified CPC Corporation, Taipower Company, and Taiwan Sugar as their next privatization targets; however, currently there is no timetable for privatising existing state-owned enterprises.
Tenders, Projects and Public Procurement
Tenders Info, Tenders in Taiwan Province of China
 Asian Development Bank, Procurement Plans in Asia
 DgMarket, Tenders Worldwide
 

Sectors Where Investment Opportunities Are Fewer

Monopolistic Sectors
Some of the 17 existing state-owned companies are large in scale and exert significant influence in their industries, especially monopolies such as Taiwan Power (Taipower) and Taiwan Water. Furthermore, CPC Corporation (formerly China Petroleum Corporation) controls over 70% of Taiwan’s gasoline retail market.
Sectors in Decline
Agri-food and cheap textiles (due to the competition from the Chinese workforce).
 

+