Taiwan to Invest $131 Million in Semiconductor Industry

　　Taiwan will invest about $131 million over four years in the island nation's semiconductor industry, according to multiple news reports citing recent remarks by Taiwan's Minister of Science and Technology (MOST).

　　Reports out of Asia indicate that Minister Chen Liang-gee, speaking at the grand opening of a Phison Electronics fab in Taiwan last week. MOST will invest about $33.5 million per year over the next four years in high-tech chip applications including artificial intelligence (AI), the report quoted the minister as saying.

　　MOST announced separately that it has planned an AI Innovation Research Center to foster AI innovation, technology development and executive leadership in the space.

　　Taiwan's semiconductor investment  plan joins other plans recently announced by the U.S., South Korea, and, notably, China, which announced in 2015 it plans to pump some $161 billion into its domestic semiconductor industry over 10 years.