Taiwan in May 2026: the most important developments in economy
In May 2026, Taiwan's economy was shaped by the boom in artificial intelligence chips. Sony and TSMC announced plans to form a joint venture for image sensors. At the month's end, Computex opened with Nvidia and Taiwan's growing role in AI infrastructure at the centre. On May 27 Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said the company plans to invest up to $150 billion a year in Taiwan, calling the island the epicentre of the AI revolution. AMD announced plans to invest more than $10 billion in Taiwan's chip industry, and the government welcomed it. TSMC pledged an incentive increase of more than 30 percent for employees, and borrowing by Taiwanese technology firms reached a record $14.5 billion. Samsung's market value reached $1 trillion on May 6, joining TSMC in that group, and investors were reported to be looking beyond TSMC as the boom spreads.
Other corporate news included Poland's EMP teaming up with Foxconn on an electric vehicle manufacturing hub, Kontron saying it expects a takeover bid from a Foxconn subsidiary, and a Taiwanese chip testing firm's new Singapore facility, expected to create more than 300 jobs. Huawei said it had a chipmaking breakthrough that narrows the gap with TSMC. Taiwan sought to detain three people in a crackdown on alleged AI chip smuggling, and the United States paused an arms sale to Taiwan, citing the war in Iran as a factor.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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