TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Despite a 27% decline of foreign direct investment in Taiwan for the first eight months of 2023, large multinationals including ASML and Microsoft Corp. are still investing, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Wednesday (Sept. 20).

Approved foreign direct investment in Taiwan in January-August totaled US$7.52 billion (NT$240.75 billion), a drop of 27.58% from the same period in 2022 mainly due to a high comparison base, per CNA. The MOEA approved 1,534 investment applications, or 7.92% less than during the first eight months of 2022.

However, the cases included some high-profile investments by major multinational corporations, the MOEA said. Dutch semiconductor machinery maker ASML Holding NV raised its capital in its Taiwan affiliate by NT$5.65 billion, while software giant Microsoft spent US$430 million on its local subsidiary.

The MOEA also named Singapore DBS Bank for plowing NT$52 billion in its affiliate. Germany’s Yunlin Holding GmbH and Denmark’s Orsted Wind Power Holding A/S invested NT$29.2 billion and NT$12 billion respectively in their wind energy operations in Taiwan.

Investment coming from the New Southbound Policy countries was up, according to the MOEA. The figure for January-August reached US$2.29 billion, or 24.68% more than the same period last year, with Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand as the most frequent places of origin.

China showed a mixed picture, with the number of investment cases from the communist country falling by more than half, but the amount rising by more than a quarter. The MOEA approved 16 cases, or 54.29% less than in January-August 2022, but the value of US$23.93 million signified an increase of 26.95%.