Minister Kung Ming-hsin: Corporate Investment Values Efficiency; Taiwan's Factory Construction Speed is World's Fastest

According to the Central News Agency, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin stated on the 26th that with the explosion of AI demand, international giants including Micron Technology continue to expand their investments in Taiwan. What companies value most is not costs like electricity prices, but administrative efficiency. Under the trend of global supply chain restructuring, Taiwan not only has the advantage of high yields but also has the "fastest factory construction speed in the world."

In an exclusive interview on the radio program "News Firecracker" today, Kung pointed out that the key to international semiconductor giants like Micron continuing to increase their investment in Taiwan lies in Taiwan's high administrative efficiency, which can respond to AI industry needs at the fastest speed. He cited the recent purchase of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation's (PSMC) existing plant in Tongluo, Miaoli, by Micron as an example of valuing the ability to quickly complete production layout.

Kung emphasized that what companies care about most now is not costs like electricity prices, but overall administrative efficiency. Taking TSMC as an example, the industrial electricity price paid in Taiwan is even higher than in Kumamoto, Japan, but they continue to expand investment. The key is the smooth administrative process and fast factory construction speed.

Regarding the resilience of Taiwan's energy supply, Kung pointed out that the government has been rolling out assessments of power demand and supply until 2032-2034, and "there is no problem during this period." In the future, in addition to power generation, it is more important to strengthen the resilience of the power grid to ensure that electricity can be stably delivered to the user end.

He also mentioned that green energy makes a significant contribution to power generation during the day, but it still needs to rely on base-load power such as natural gas at night, so natural gas power generation is still a necessary option. It is expected that 4 natural gas units will be connected to the grid this year, each with about 1.3 million kilowatts, and the overall scale is equivalent to a nuclear power unit.

In terms of economic performance, Kung said that export orders in the first 4 months of this year were better than last year. Not only is the electronics industry continuing to grow, but the order situation in traditional industries is also improving simultaneously. Especially after some companies introduced AI and entered the semiconductor supply chain, their operational performance has improved significantly. In industries such as materials, equipment, and components, some companies even have stock price performance better than TSMC.

He pointed out that in the past, industries such as heat sinks belonged to traditional manufacturing, but after the expansion of AI and semiconductor applications, they have become one of the key supply chains. For traditional industries that have not been included in the supply chain, the government will continue to assist in upgrading and transformation, and introducing AI and digital tools.

Regarding industrial support policies, Kung said that the relevant budget for small and micro enterprises has been increased to over 10 billion NTD per year. In the future, if the 100 billion NTD assistance plan for small and micro enterprises proposed by President Lai Ching-te is included, it is estimated that more than 20 billion NTD of resources will be invested in the upgrading of small and micro enterprises and traditional industries every year.

He emphasized that high-tech industries can develop rapidly as long as the government provides infrastructure such as water, electricity, and land; by contrast, traditional industries need more policy assistance. The government's goal is to truly introduce AI into all walks of life, so that the overall industry can benefit together, rather than being limited to the technology field.

In addition, regarding the export control issue of high-end chips and servers to China, Kung stated that Taiwan's export control system operates in accordance with the international anti-proliferation mechanism "Wassenaar Arrangement." If a product is listed on the control list, it will be managed simultaneously.

He pointed out that the government has set up a list of core key technologies to prohibit the outflow of related technologies to China for investment or production; at the same time, it cooperates with major countries such as the United States to establish an entity list system to prohibit the export of specific products to designated targets. If manufacturers declare falsely, they may also be involved in criminal liability. Recently, the investigation of 3 Taiwanese operators suspected of illegally reselling servers equipped with high-end chips involves violating US regulations and domestic declaration systems.

Regarding economic and trade relations with the United States, Kung pointed out that the legal basis for the current US tariff measures is still being rebuilt, but both sides hope to maintain the existing negotiation results. The current temporary tax rate is about 10%, which is close to the original level and has little impact on Taiwanese operators.

Regarding US President Trump's claim that Taiwan "stole the chip industry," Kung emphasized that Taiwan's semiconductor industry is the result of more than 40 years of long-term accumulation, relying on technology, yield, and international competitiveness, rather than unfair means. He pointed out that most semiconductor products are ITA (Information Technology Agreement) zero-tariff items, and the world is competing under fair conditions. "We sell better because our competitiveness is stronger."