Taiwan ranked third best investment destination among 50 major countries and territories surveyed in the latest Profit Opportunity Recommendation report by U.S.-based Business Environment Risk Intelligence S.A.
Scoring 61 out of 100 in the triannual report, Taiwan finished behind Switzerland, 71 and Norway, 62. The country took the lead in Asia, outdoing neighbors Singapore and South Korea, 58; Japan, 54; and China, 45.
Taiwan’s 1C ranking—also awarded to Norway, Singapore and South Korea—was assessed on the basis of its performance in three indexes: Operations Risk, Political Risk, and Remittance and Repatriation Factor. Switzerland was the only country to earn the top 1A rating.
Taiwan’s standout results included third in operations, placing the country behind Switzerland and the U.S., in that order.
Of the 15 subindexes used to calculate operations risk, Taiwan came out on top in monetary inflation as well as communications and transportation. The country finished second in labor cost/productivity and professional services and contracts.
Taiwan continued to lead the way in remittance and repatriation despite the country’s merchandise trade surplus dropping to US$3.3 billion in February from US$5.06 billion the same month last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the four subindexes comprising remittance and repatriation, Taiwan outperformed in accumulated international reserves, foreign debt assessment and foreign exchange generation. The country finished fourth in legal framework. (YCH-E)
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