Taiwan on track to enter the world's top 20 economies next year, Lai says
Taiwan's government is projecting its strongest growth in decades and extending its business investment programs — good news for companies looking to expand there.
- Taiwan's economy is expected to grow more than 11% this year, the best in 39 years, after 8.76% last year.
- Growth in the first half hit 14.15%, described as the highest in half a century, putting Taiwan on track to join the world's 20 largest economies next year.
- The "Three Major Programs for Investment in Taiwan" have been extended through next year and opened up to Taiwanese businesses abroad and foreign companies.
- An "AI New Ten Major Construction Projects" push aims to train at least 500,000 AI workers by 2040 and build out quantum computing, silicon photonics, and robotics.
- A NT$100 billion fund is meant to help small and mid-size firms upgrade, so the gains are not limited to the chip and tech giants.
Outlook: Taiwan will keep courting foreign and overseas Taiwanese investment while pushing AI as the next growth engine, with the top-20 ranking the near-term marker to watch.