By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-03 00:55:02 | Updated at 2026-09-03 01:55:07
1 hour ago
Taiwanese technology companies have increased their planned U.S. investments by about $20 billion since May, Taiwan’s economy minister said Sept. 2.
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin announced the increase at the opening of the U.S. Pavilion at SEMICON Taiwan, a major semiconductor industry trade show, in Taipei.
U.S. Commerce Department official Bill Frauenhofer described it as an “incremental $20 billion” in U.S. investment by Taiwanese semiconductor and AI-server supply chain companies.
Frauenhofer, executive director of the CHIPS Program Office, said the investment would contribute to more secure and resilient semiconductor and electronics supply chains.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs said a survey conducted around the SelectUSA Investment Summit in May found about 20 semiconductor and AI server-related companies were planning roughly $35 billion in U.S. investment. Now, a new survey found those plans had increased by another $20 billion within several months.
The ministry did not identify the companies or projects behind the increase, leaving unclear how much represents new or expanded investment and how much remains under evaluation.
US States Seek Chip Projects
The U.S. Pavilion brings together 11 U.S. state and territory economic-development organizations, according to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which co-organized the pavilion with the American State Offices Association.
American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene (4th L) and U.S. Commerce Department CHIPS Program Office Director Bill Frauenhofer (3rd L) join participants at the U.S. Pavilion during SEMICON Taiwan 2026 in Taipei on Sept. 2, 2026. Courtesy of the American Institute in Taiwan
AIT said the pavilion highlights opportunities for two-way investment, trusted supply chains, workforce development and joint innovation, and invited Taiwanese companies to explore investment opportunities in the United States.
The official exhibitor list names economic development agencies from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oklahoma. The Northern Mariana Islands is also represented.
Arizona mounted a particularly large semiconductor-focused mission around the event.
The Arizona Commerce Authority said it brought more than 100 representatives from government, economic development, universities, workforce organizations, industry, and community groups to Taiwan for a visit running from Aug. 31 through Sept. 4.
The delegation is participating in semiconductor and workforce events, hosting an Arizona Forum expected to draw nearly 200 people, visiting Taipei’s Neihu Technology Park, and joining meetings focused on semiconductor supply chains and industrial investment.
The authority said the trip is its third delegation to Taiwan this year.
Arizona also maintains a trade and investment office in Taipei, while Taiwan opened a trade and investment service center in Phoenix in May.
Florida is conducting a separate leadership mission to Taiwan that includes SEMICON Taiwan, meetings with Taiwanese stakeholders, and what SelectFlorida describes as targeted industry engagements and site visits.
The investment push comes alongside efforts to expand the semiconductor workforce linking the two economies.
At an Aug. 31 event in Taipei on U.S.–Taiwan workforce cooperation, AIT said U.S. and Taiwanese officials, universities, and industry groups launched new semiconductor education and scholarship initiatives. AIT also said Taiwan’s foreign direct investment in the United States reached a record level last year.
Existing US Projects
Taiwan’s earlier survey named United Microelectronics Corp., GlobalWafers, WIN Semiconductors, Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron, and Compal among Taiwanese companies investing or considering investment in the United States.
The ministry has not said whether any of those companies account for the additional $20 billion announced Sept. 2.
Wistron is pursuing two electronics manufacturing projects in Fort Worth, Texas.
City agreements require at least $687 million in combined capital investment and 888 full-time jobs at the two locations.
Compal is separately planning a $200 million electronics manufacturing operation in Taylor, Texas.
City Communications Manager Jerrod Kingery told The Epoch Times that an amended tax-abatement agreement considered Aug. 13 did not change the Taylor project’s investment or employment commitments, footprint, or other material business terms.
Compal plans to occupy an approximately 366,000 square feet building at TaylorPort and create at least 750 jobs, with plans to increase employment to about 900, Kingery said.
The city’s tax-abatement agreement has a monetary value of $50 million and runs from Dec. 24, 2025 through Dec. 24, 2035.
Kingery said Taylor has not identified or committed any water, wastewater, road, utility, or other public infrastructure improvements specifically for the project because Compal will occupy an existing building.
Federal Support for Semiconductor Supply Chain
GlobalWafers, also named in Taiwan’s May survey, is building silicon-wafer manufacturing capacity in Sherman, Texas, and St. Peters, Missouri.
The U.S. Commerce Department has awarded the company up to $406 million in direct funding through the CHIPS program.
The projects represent approximately $4 billion in expected capital expenditures and are expected to create about 880 manufacturing jobs across Texas and Missouri, according to Commerce.
The Sherman plant is intended to establish high-volume U.S. production of 300-millimeter silicon wafers used in advanced, mature-node and memory chips.
Commerce has said roughly 90 percent of silicon wafers are currently sourced from East Asia.
Participants pose at the California booth during SEMICON Taiwan 2026 in Taipei on Sept. 2, 2026. Courtesy of the American Institute in Taiwan
Larger Investment Framework
The Sept. 2 estimate follows a much larger U.S.–Taiwan investment framework announced in January.
The Commerce Department said Taiwanese semiconductor and technology companies would make at least $250 billion in new direct investment in U.S. semiconductor, energy, and AI production and innovation capacity.
Taiwan also agreed to provide at least $250 billion in credit guarantees intended to facilitate additional corporate investment.
The U.S. push is part of a broader effort to build technology supply chains among trusted partners.
In a Sept. 1 prerecorded address to the Semicon Network Summit in Taipei, State Department Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg cited Pax Silica, a U.S.-led initiative to build secure technology supply chains with trusted partners, and called on Taiwanese industry leaders and investors to help develop projects within the network.
Neither side has publicly clarified whether the $20 billion increase identified by Kung is included within the $250 billion direct-investment figure or represents additional investment beyond that amount.
