Taiwan approved a batch of big investment deals led by a US chip equipment maker putting fresh money into its local arm — good news for Taiwan's grip on advanced chipmaking.

• Lam Research is putting about NT$9.8 billion into its Taiwan unit for research and design work on tools used to make cutting-edge chips.
• Six deals were cleared in total, split between foreign money coming into Taiwan and Taiwanese companies expanding abroad.
• Zhen Ding is adding NT$3 billion to its circuit board maker Boardtek for research, production and sales.
• Taiwanese chip firm Nuvoton is expanding in Japan, and a Foxconn arm is buying into a Mitsubishi bus manufacturer.
• Other approved deals cover solid-state batteries and drone parts in Texas, plus a healthcare acquisition aimed at medical equipment sales.

Outlook: Expect more approvals like these as chip suppliers deepen their footprint in Taiwan while local firms spread production across Japan and the US.