Baker McKenzie Taipei and the Monte Jade Association of Taiwan, with support from the Southeast Asia Impact Alliance, jointly hosted the “2026 Taiwan Outbound Investment Forum" for Multinational Enterprises in Taipei on April 22, 2026. The forum brought together leading legal, industry and government representatives from Taiwan to discuss overseas investment strategies in the context of evolving global trade, regulatory and supply chain dynamics.
The forum focused on five key markets - Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand - and examined how Taiwanese enterprises can navigate legal, regulatory, and commercial considerations when expanding internationally. More than 15 speakers from Baker McKenzie’s offices across Asia Pacific, alongside industry leaders and public sector representatives, shared practical insights on cross border M&A, supply chain diversification, digital infrastructure, and energy transition.
In her opening remarks, Grace Shao, Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie Taipei highlighted the growing importance of resilience, compliance, and long term strategic planning in overseas investments. She said: “Outbound investment into - and M&A activity across - Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia are key areas of focus for Taiwanese enterprises. This forum was specifically designed to provide Taiwanese companies with a fresh, practical lens on global investment opportunities, as they expand their global footprint."
H. Tung, Chairman of Monte Jade Association of Taiwan added, "As global geopolitical dynamics continue to evolve, companies are shifting their overseas investment strategies from a primary focus on efficiency to a greater emphasis on resilience and risk management. Despite policy and supply chain challenges, Taiwan continues to offer strong opportunities underpinned by its technology strengths and global experience, however rising energy demand driven by AI-development and climate related risks highlight the growing importance of energy stability and structural resilience for long term competitiveness."
Keynote sessions explored how companies are reassessing global value chains, adopting more regionally focused investment strategies, and strengthening governance frameworks to support sustainable growth in an evolving geopolitical environment.
The first keynote speech was delivered by Tracy Wut, APAC Chair of Transactional Practice at Baker McKenzie Hong Kong, who commented: “We are seeing corporate leaders move from reactive responses to proactive, strategic positioning. By pursuing forward looking investments, M&A and local partnerships, organizations are enhancing operational resilience and long term enterprise value, making this a core strategy to sustainable growth and manage risk effectively.”
Panel discussions provided market specific perspectives, including data centres and digital investment opportunities in Malaysia and Indonesia, inbound M&A in Japan supported by corporate succession and governance reforms, and energy transition initiatives in Vietnam and Thailand.
Panel Discussion I: Resource Resilience and the Digital Value Chain - Dual Engine Opportunities in Malaysia and Indonesia
The first panel discussion focused on Malaysia and Indonesia and was jointly moderated by Baker McKenzie Taipei partners Gwyneth S. L. Gu, and Julia King.
Malaysia
Speaking on Malaysia, Addy Herg, Partner of Wong & Partners, a member firm of Baker McKenzie International highlighted Malaysia’s growing role in the global data center and semiconductor supply chains, supported by a stable investment environment, strong energy availability and steadily maturing infrastructure. He observed that data center investment in Malaysia has accelerated significantly in recent years. Supported by energy transition policies, this has fostered the development of an integrated value chain encompassing power infrastructure, cooling solutions and AI computing capacity, creating compelling opportunities for Taiwanese companies seeking to expand their regional footprint.
Indonesia
As for Indonesia, Adhika Wiyoso, Partner of HHP, member of Baker & McKenzie International shared insights on Indonesia’s AI landscape, evolving data localization requirements and the implications of regulatory developments for cross border M&A activity. He noted that with the implementation of Indonesia’s Personal Data Protection Law, issues such as data governance structures, local server deployment obligations and restrictions on cross border data transfers have become key legal considerations for Taiwanese enterprises undertaking digital and technology related investments in Indonesia.
Panel Discussion II: Foreign Investment Led M&A - Japan’s Unprecedented Window of Opportunity
The second panel discussion focused on Japan’s inbound M&A market and was jointly moderated by Fang-Yi Jen and Louis Hsieh, partners of Baker McKenzie Taipei.
This panel explored Japan’s inbound M&A landscape, featuring Masahiro Inaba, Partner of Baker McKenzie Tokyo, alongside industry leaders from Taiwan and Japan.
“In Japan, three structural forces are reshaping the landscape,” said Masahiro Inaba. “Small and medium-sized business owners are facing succession pressures amid a generational transition, ongoing divestments of non core assets driven by corporate governance reforms, and a reshaped foreign investment framework following recent FEFTA and takeover rule amendments are together creating a rare and compelling M&A window.”
He noted that these dynamics present “a timely and strategic opportunity for Taiwanese companies looking to expand through acquisitions in the Japanese market.”
Panel Discussion III: Capturing the Energy Transition - Dual Track Opportunities in Vietnam and Thailand
The third panel discussion, moderated by Baker McKenzie Taipei Partner Mark Tu, focused on Vietnam and Thailand - two of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic markets. The session featured Chris Milliken, Partner at Baker McKenzie Ho Chi Minh City; Nuchaya Timrat, Partner at Baker McKenzie Bangkok, senior representatives from InvestTaiwan and financial sectors.
Vietnam
Chris Milliken highlighted a series of recent regulatory and policy developments shaping Vietnam’s energy and investment landscape, including amendments to the Electricity Law, the introduction of the Direct Power Purchase Agreement (DPPA) mechanism, and capital markets reforms linked to Vietnam’s ambition to develop as a regional financial centre. He noted that these initiatives are opening new pathways for foreign investment across renewable energy, power generation and financial services, further strengthening Vietnam’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investment.
Thailand
Nuchaya Timrat shared insights on how Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) is deploying incentive based policies to attract advanced technology investments, including AI data centres, low earth orbit satellite ground stations and smart manufacturing. She also observed that Thailand is encouraging multinational companies to deepen their local presence through supply chain driven acquisitions. She added: “Thailand’s response to energy challenges has evolved into a broader industrial upgrade, creating Taiwanese technology companies experienced in supply chain integration with strong potential."
The forum concluded with closing remarks by Hao-Ray Hu, Executive Partner at Baker McKenzie Taipei, who thanked speakers and participants on behalf of the organisers. He noted that the forum went beyond outlining opportunities across five key markets, highlighting instead how companies can adopt a “law led, compliance driven” strategy to translate geopolitical disruption into measurable and manageable competitive variables.
“This forum underscores the strategic positioning of Taiwanese companies across the Asia Pacific,” said Hu. “Through practical legal insights and forward looking industry perspectives, we help businesses navigate complexity, mitigate risk and build long term competitive advantage. This is the core value of Baker McKenzie as a trusted partner supporting enterprises in their global expansion journey.”
The forum attracted more than 100 participants from corporates, investment institutions, and government bodies. Baker McKenzie Taipei will continue to host similar forums to share practical insights and support Taiwanese clients as they navigate global geopolitical and regulatory complexity in pursuing international growth.