Opinion

Taiwan SEMICON: Proactive economic development for Scottsdale

Posted
By Jan Dubauskas | Member, Scottsdale City Council

OPINION — Scottsdale was pleased to join the Arizona Commerce Authority and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s delegation to Taiwan SEMICON, the world’s leading semiconductor conference. With more than 105 delegates from Arizona cities, towns, businesses and universities, Arizona made an incredible impression!

Scottsdale was very well received at Taiwan SEMICON. As part of the technology corridor between TSMC in north Phoenix and Intel in Chandler, Scottsdale is perfectly positioned for innovative technology companies. 

The sheer volume of companies in the TSMC ecosystem is incredible, and many are looking to come to Arizona. In addition to TSMC’s $265B investment, the Taiwanese government announced that it will issue $250B in business loans and take 50% of the risk for businesses moving to the U.S. — and 80% of those loans will go to Arizona. There is a lot of business coming to our state!

After Mayor Borowsky’s departure, it was my honor to represent Scottsdale for the last two days of SEMICON. In addition to economic development, we also focused on the tourism industry. The Taiwanese are passionate baseball fans! With our unique Scottsdale Stadium in the center of Old Town, we are perfectly positioned to drive tourism to our city. 

Interestingly, each city offers something different, making Scottsdale’s brand and value proposition clear. What we offer is unique and very special: corporate headquarters, research and development, SkySong’s tech innovation lab, biotechnology, restaurants, tourism, an executive airport, and a high-quality lifestyle within 30 minutes of TSMC.

While many cities have already built in-roads with Taiwan, Scottsdale is starting strong. After this productive trip, we now have the opportunity to proactively consider our next steps to attract the best fit for Scottsdale’s vibrant economy and community.

There is so much opportunity. These are exciting times in Scottsdale!

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