German Firms in Taiwan See Taichung as Better Investment Destination Than Taipei

German investments in Taiwan are gradually shifting from the north to the central and south, as shown by the latest business confidence survey by the German Trade Office Taipei, which shows Taichung, a central metropolis, is  preferred over Taipei as the most attractive investment destination on the island.

In the survey, 23% of polled German investors regard Taichung as their favorite, while only 15% each choose Taipei and Kaohsiung as an ideal city among others in Taiwan. Tainan, the second most-populated metropolis in the south, Taoyuan, a hub of factories and locale of the Taoyuan International Airport, and Hsinchu, the base of the island's biggest cluster of tech firms in the Hsinchu Science Park, receive 13%, 10% and 10% of the vote, respectively, as the favorite investment destinations.

One main factor for such central- and southward trend, says the German Trade Office Taipei's executive director, Roland Wein, is  skyrocketing realty prices and rent in the north, named by German firms as the third-biggest investment risk, next to difficulty of recruiting qualified talent and foreign exchange risk.

Wei urges Taiwanese cities to promote individual advantages to attract investors, citing Hsinchu's, location of the island's most prestigious R&D body, Industrial Technology Research Institute, ability to keep resident firms to drive R&D as a striking example.

The survey also indicates that most of the respondents opine Taiwan should step up negotiations with China on forging cross-strait service and goods trade agreements, which will enable the island to build a more attractive investment environment for foreign investors and further fuel economic growth. (SC)

Results of Favorite Cities Survey for German Investors in Taiwan
City	Taichung	Taipei	Kaohsiung	Tainan	Taoyuan	Hsinchu
2014	23%	15%	15%	13%	10%	10%
2013	24%	24%	17%	1%	8%	4%

Source: German Trade Office Taipei