Taiwan's companies are pouring record money into overseas projects, mostly in the U.S., which is good for American chip factories but raises questions about Taiwan hollowing out its own industry.

• Government-approved investments abroad tripled in the first seven months of the year, topping $61 billion.
• TSMC drove most of it, with $20 billion more for its Arizona chip plants and $30 billion routed through an offshore financial arm.
• Other Taiwanese chip and electronics firms, including Nanya and Lite-On, are also moving money offshore.
• Foreign money coming into Taiwan rose sharply too, helped by a big Micron investment and a Dutch offshore wind project.
• Investment flowing to China fell by a quarter, and Chinese money coming into Taiwan collapsed almost entirely.

Outlook: Expect the U.S.-bound flow to keep growing as chipmakers build out American capacity, while Taiwan-China investment ties keep shrinking.