TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan dropped one place to No. 4 on the list of the world’s best destinations for investment, according to the United States Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI) rankings, reports said Tuesday (June 1).

Switzerland remained in the top spot, while Norway stayed at No. 2, but South Korea managed to move ahead of Taiwan to No. 3, CNA reported. Taiwan also dropped one point, down to 61 points, in the rankings for “profit opportunity recommendation” compared to the third BERI list of the previous year.

Nevertheless, the report still concluded that Taiwan was a safe bet to expand business or investments. Looking ahead to the future of the list rating 50 countries, Taiwan was likely to stay at No. 4 next year but to move back up to No. 3 by 2026.

The main factor in the country's slight overall fall this year was the rise of political risk, with BERI placing Taiwan as No. 21, or seven spots lower than in the previous report, published late last year.

In contrast, Taiwan came out the best in the world for its foreign exchange and external accounts position, thanks to what BERI described as the excellent performance of its exports all through the COVID-19 pandemic.