President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 11 with Synopsys, Inc. President and co-CEO Chi-Foon Chan (陳志寬)and Managing Director Robbins Yeh (葉瑞斌). The president welcomed the technology company's decision to increase its investment in Taiwan, helping to solidify Taiwan's status as a world leader in the semiconductor sector. President Ma expressed his hope that Synopsys will continue to play a key role in "innovation, research & development, and software services," and said he looks forward to seeing long-lasting development of Taiwan's semiconductor sector and a harmonious partnership between Synopsys and Taiwan's semiconductor industry.
In remarks, the president first noted that Synopsys has operated a branch office in Taiwan for many years. To date, the company has invested over NT$1.4 billion here, he said, adding that in 2004 when he served as mayor of Taipei City, he visited the company's headquarters in the Silicon Valley in the United States. The president said that he has witnessed the growth of Synopsys in Taiwan over the years.
President Ma stressed that Synopsys is the world's leader in electronic design automation (EDA). Not only has it introduced EDA software to Taiwan, but in the near future it also intends to increase its investment in Taiwan by NT$12.2 billion in an effort to expand its services to Taiwan's semiconductor houses.
The president commented that Taiwan's semiconductor industry ranks among the world's leaders in integrated circuit design and foundry operations. Meanwhile, the design automation software from Synopsys that is provided to factories helps them to increase capacity and reduce costs. This role of software services is crucial to Taiwan's semiconductor industry, the president said.
He furthermore remarked that the current global economic downturn is every bit as severe as the financial tsunami that took place four years ago. Nonetheless, the people of Taiwan cannot afford the luxury of being pessimistic, and instead should help to find Taiwan's strengths. The worse off the economy, the greater the efforts should be to create a foundation for the future, he said. The government is also working to create a friendlier investment environment to attract overseas-based Taiwan-invested companies back here to invest, and to interest greater amounts of foreign investment in Taiwan. The president stated that Taiwan in the future will focus on incorporation of a service element by manufacturing firms, incorporation of advanced technology and an international reach by service firms, and achievement of greater distinctiveness by firms in traditional sectors . Efforts in this regard, he said, will boost Taiwan's competitiveness.
With respect to creating a more optimal framework for external trade relationships, the president explained to the visitors that Taiwan's investment environment is already more liberalized than it was in the past. Taiwan's tax rates are comparable to those of Hong Kong and Singapore, and they are lower than those of Japan, Korea, and mainland China, he said. The president stated that two years ago Taiwan and mainland China signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, and last year signed the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement with its second largest trading partner. Presently, Taiwan is engaged in negotiations with Singapore and New Zealand on economic cooperation agreements, he noted, which indicates that Taiwan's international trade environment has begun to improve. President Ma said that improvements will only increase in the future. The government will take advantage of Taiwan's existing conditions to create new business opportunities, improve trade conditions, and provide foreign companies with the best investment environment possible, he said, adding that in the future Taiwan's conditions for trade will get stronger and stronger.
The executives from Synopsys were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Tsao-shan Chou (周作姍), chief secretary at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, to meet President Ma.