TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said on Thursday (Oct. 13) she was seeking to secure NT$30 billion (US$941 million) worth of investment from U.S. companies.

Wang is on a weeklong visit to the U.S. ending Sunday (Oct. 16) for the first in-person U.S.-Taiwan Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration framework (TTIC) meeting.

The exchanges saw the attendance of 80 businesses, from both sides, higher than the 40 to 50 expected, she said at a press conference at Twin Oaks in Washington. Seven MOUs were inked spanning renewables and 5G.

The official was scheduled to visit Silicon Valley on Friday (Oct. 15), where she would meet industry players from the semiconductor sector, from IC design, and software development to equipment manufacturers, she told CNA.

Wang will give a briefing after her trips to companies including Applied Materials, a California-based supplier of equipment for the manufacture of chips. She was looking at obtaining an investment of NT$30 billion if potential deals could materialize, the report quoted her as saying.

Meanwhile, the top economics official reiterated the importance of a stable Taiwan Strait for undisrupted semiconductor production. Up to 60% of chips made in Taiwan are shipped to China for the final assembly of products and should the supply chain derail, both the Chinese and the world economies would suffer, she warned.