The Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center (TASC) of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) has jointly released the Report on Investment Trends of Taiwanese Companies in ASEAN 2018–2024 with Dun & Bradstreet Taiwan on December 9. It is the first domestic study to analyze Taiwanese business expansion using actual corporate data. Tien-Wang Tsaur, Chairman of the CIER, stated that due to geopolitical shifts and the reorganization of global supply chains, ASEAN has emerged as the most significant overseas investment destination for Taiwanese businesses. Since 2018, the number of companies investing in ASEAN has shown steady growth, in sharp contrast to the decline in Taiwanese investment in China.
Kristy Hsu, Director of the TASC, indicated that the report covers three major events: the “US-China Trade War,” the “COVID-19 Pandemic,” and “Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan.” The results show that Taiwanese business investment has shifted from traditional manufacturing to the electronics industry, with high-value-added production chains gradually relocating to Southeast Asia. During the US-China trade conflict, new Taiwanese investments were primarily concentrated in Vietnam and Malaysia. Following Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, electronics industry investment growth in Thailand was most notable, reflecting the accelerated expansion of Taiwanese supply chains.
Global corporate investment in ASEAN is relatively dispersed, but Taiwanese businesses are highly concentrated in Vietnam, Thailand, and industries such as electronics and wholesale/retail. The New Southbound Policy has now entered its 10th year. Facing de-risking trends, Taiwan needs to continue deepening economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN to strengthen supply chain resilience and capture the next wave of growth opportunities. Chairman Tien-Wang Tsaur emphasized that by utilizing real data from over 6,200 business locations in Taiwan, the goal is to provide more comprehensive evidence for both policy and corporate decision-making. This initiative aims to help Taiwan strengthen its strategic capabilities in response to global changes.
Author: CIER Editorial Team
Date: December 10, 2025