Taiwan economy minister to visit US for major investment summit

Taiwan Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said ​he would leave for the ​United States on Thursday to ‌attend ​a major U.S.-government organised investment forum. DETAILS AND CONTEXT

* Taiwan and the United States in January signed a ‌deal to cut tariffs on many of the semiconductor powerhouse's exports. In exchange, Taiwanese companies will invest $250 billion to increase production of semiconductors, energy and artificial intelligence in the ‌U.S. * Kung told reporters he would first visit Arizona, where Taiwan's TSMC, ‌the world's largest contract chipmaker, is investing $165 billion to build new factories.

* Kung said his understanding is that Taiwan's delegation to the SelectUSA Investment Summit, taking place in Maryland from May ⁠3-6, ​will be one ⁠of the biggest, or even the largest. * "The fact that so many (companies) have joined really shows ⁠that Taiwan's businesses are interested in the U.S. market and in investing there," he ​said.

* The U.S. Department of Commerce is the host of the ⁠summit. * The United States is Chinese-claimed Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, but ⁠Taiwan runs ​a large trade surplus with the U.S., which has upset the Trump administration.

* Taiwan's government has said it is up to Taiwanese companies to ⁠decide where best to invest their money in the United States. * Other Taiwanese ⁠firms which have ⁠invested in or plan to increase investments in the United States include Foxconn , which is Nvidia's largest server maker, ‌and silicon wafer ‌manufacturer GlobalWafers.

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