TAIPEI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Taiwanese companies are planning another $20 billion of investments in the U.S. driven by demand for AI applications, the island's economy minister said on Wednesday without giving details, though drawing a warm response from a visiting U.S. official.
The U.S., which is Chinese-claimed Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, has pushed Taiwanese technology companies to ramp up their investments as part of a U.S. effort
to get more domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Speaking at the opening of the U.S. pavilion at the SEMICON trade show in Taipei, Taiwan Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said Taiwanese companies were "very actively" investing in the U.S.
Since May, when Taiwan attended the SelectUSA Investment Summit, Kung said the ministry had conducted a new assessment of which companies, aside from major chipmaker TSMC, might want to further their investments in the country, and the result was an extra $20 billion.
AI and chip orders were "extremely lively", which is what is drawing this interest, Kung added, though he did not give details of which companies he was talking about.
TSMC announced in July a further $100 billion investment in the U.S. state of Arizona, bringing the total planned investment to $265 billion.
Speaking at the same event as Kung, a U.S. Commerce Department official who oversees the government programme to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing, called the CHIPS Act, welcomed the announcement.
"It demonstrates our continued shared commitment to a secure, resilient and innovative semiconductor and electronics supply chain," said Bill Frauenhofer, executive director of semiconductor investment and innovation at the department.
"These projects will strengthen critical technology capabilities in the U.S. and advance innovations that will shape our collective future for decades to come."
U.S. President Donald Trump has on occasion criticised Taiwan for "stealing" American semiconductor business, a perception Taiwan's government says is unfair even as it has backed its companies to increase their U.S. investments.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
