Taiwan economy minister to visit US for major investment summit

Taiwan Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said he would leave for the United States on Thursday to attend a major U.S.-government organised investment forum.

DETAILS AND CONTEXT

• Taiwan and the United States in January signed a deal to cut tariffs on many of the semiconductor powerhouse's exports. In exchange, Taiwanese companies will invest $250 billion to increase production of semiconductors, energy and artificial intelligence in the U.S.

• Kung told reporters he would first visit Arizona, where Taiwan's TSMC 2330.TW, the world's largest contract chipmaker, is investing $165 billion to build new factories.

• Kung said his understanding is that Taiwan's delegation to the SelectUSA Investment Summit, taking place in Maryland from May 3-6, will be one of the biggest, or even the largest.

• "The fact that so many (companies) have joined really shows that Taiwan's businesses are interested in the U.S. market and in investing there," he said.

• The U.S. Department of Commerce is the host of the summit.

• The United States is Chinese-claimed Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, but Taiwan runs a large trade surplus with the U.S., which has upset the Trump administration.

• Taiwan's government has said it is up to Taiwanese companies to decide where best to invest their money in the United States.

• Other Taiwanese firms which have invested in or plan to increase investments in the United States include Foxconn 2317.TW, which is Nvidia's NVDA.O largest server maker, and silicon wafer manufacturer GlobalWafers6488.TWO.

  
  

  -Ben Blanchard/Reuters