Taiwan will launch a 1-billion-dollar fund to offer loans for joint Lithuanian-Taiwanese investment projects, Lithuania's Economy Ministry said on Tuesday.
Economy Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė said she was informed about the scheme by Taiwanese Minister of National Development Ming-hsin Kung during a phone call on Tuesday.
Read more: Taiwan to invest $200m in Lithuania to offset Beijing’s sanctions
The move comes amid tensions between Lithuania and China over the opening of a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius. Beijing has been pressuring Lithuania with trade sanctions to reverse the decision.
Last week, Taiwan announced plans to set up a 200-million-dollar investment fund to invest in Lithuanian industries.
Armonaitė said the funds will offer favourable terms for joint projects and that Taiwan's investments will reach Lithuania as soon as possible, according to the ministry's press release.
While Taiwan has yet to decide on specific projects, the Lithuania is most interested in potential investments in the semiconductor, laser and biotechnology sectors, according to Armonaitė.
Read more: Amid dispute with China, Lithuania may get foothold in Taiwan’s microchip production – media
“During the meeting, I suggested that Lithuania should be considered as a potential investment location for the semiconductor industry,” the minister said in the press release.
“We recognize & value the Taiwanese investment plans in Lithuania. Now it is very important to have a clear agenda that would lead to tangible results. Looking forward to the next steps!” she tweeted later.
Mutually beneficial projects
“Taiwan and Lithuania have areas where we can cooperate together,” Ming-hsin Kung said on Tuesday. “When I visited Lithuania [in October], Taiwanese and Lithuanian businesses held 240 B2B meetings, after these meetings some of these businesses have already come up with projects and they want to cooperate so these funds would apply to those projects.”
Any project would be able to vie for support, the minister said, emphasising the one and only condition, benefit for the economies of Taiwan and Lithuania.
The minister mentioned various areas of investment, including semiconductor industry and microchips used in the car industry. He did not specify any particular projects or terms, however.
Armonaitė also informed Ming-hsin Kung about Lithuania's preparations to open a trade representative office in Taipei.
Vilnius expects its trade representative to start working in Taipei in the coming spring, according to the press release.
In 2020, Lithuania's exports to Taiwan totaled 19 million euros, accounting for 0.1 percent of the total, and imports from the island amounted to 66 million euros, or 0.2 percent of the overall imports.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
