TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The world’s biggest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC, 台積電) still sees Taiwan as its favorite investment destination, chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) said Friday, even though he lauded Foxconn Group’s decision to invest in the United States.

On Thursday, Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) announced at the White House he was investing US$10 billion in the state of Wisconsin to build an LCD panel plant.

While praising the deal, Chang, a pioneer of Taiwan’s electronics industry, said that TSMC still saw Taiwan as its first choice for new investments. “Our hope is to stay in Taiwan, Taiwan is making quite an effort,” the founder of the chip company said.

It wasn’t because Foxconn was investing in the U.S. that other companies would blindly follow, since each enterprise had its own motives for investing somewhere, Chang told reporters in Taipei Friday.

The businessman said Taiwan could still improve the supply of water and electricity to factories, but as far as labor relations were concerned, there were no problems at TSMC.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Gou signed a cooperation memorandum with Governor Scott Walker. Responding to criticism that he should have invested in his home country of Taiwan, Gou said “the market is my homeland,” but also reminded the reporter where he paid taxes. “If I don’t make any money, how do I pay taxes?” the tycoon said.

Taiwan’s scale was too small for a group like Foxconn, which is one of the largest manufacturers of Apple Inc. products. “The world’s largest markets are the U.S. and China, so if we don’t go there, where do we go?” the Foxconn founder concluded.