RI not good for investment now: Taiwan official<\/p>\n
TAIPEI (Dow Jones): Taiwan will not halt its \"Go South\" policy
\nin the wake of the atrocities committed against ethnic Chinese
\nwomen during the May chaos in Indonesia, a senior official at the
\nMinistry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Our policy is to focus on the whole region, not just a single
\ncountry,\" Thomas Yeh, director of the Economic Research
\nDepartment under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said.<\/p>\n
\"That's just a matter of priority. Among the regional
\ncountries, Indonesia is not a right place to make investments
\nnow,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Recent reports that many ethnic Chinese women were raped and
\ntortured during political riots in Indonesia earlier this year
\nhave triggered worries among Taiwanese businessmen in Indonesia
\nthat the relationship between the two countries will deteriorate.<\/p>\n
Many are questioning whether Taiwan authorities will end its
\ninvestment policy toward Southeast Asia on the Indonesian unrest.
\nTaiwan authorities have urged Indonesia's government to
\ninvestigate the rape reports as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\"The top priority is to ask the Indonesia government to find
\nout the truth and ask that protection be given to Taiwnese living
\nin that country,\" Yeh said.<\/p>\n
The \"Go South\" policy has strongly encouraged Taiwanese
\nbusinesses to invest in Southeast Asia to diversify the risk of
\nover-investing in China.<\/p>\n
However, the research department's Yeh added that \"the Go
\nSouth policy aims at providing information on regional economies
\nto local firms to provide them greater investment options; local
\nfirms can decide on whether to go or not by themselves.\"<\/p>\n
Wang You-theng, chairman of Taiwan's General Chamber of
\nCommerce, said late Wednesday, \"If things couldn't be settled
\ndown soon, we will urge investors to abandon their investments
\nthere (in Indonesia).\"<\/p>\n
However, Yeh said, \"we won't consider adopting economic
\nsanctions on Indonesia now; we want the truth to be out soon.\"<\/p>\n
The government will continue to monitor events in Indonesia
\nand act accordingly, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We think that Taiwanese investment there will continue to
\nshrink after the rape reports,\" Yeh said.<\/p>\n
For the first half of the year, Taiwanese investment in
\nIndonesia dropped to US$6.5 million from $23.6 million in the
\nsame period last year and Taiwan's exports to Indonesia also fell
\n48 percent from the year-earlier period to US$530 million, Yeh
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Tumble<\/p>\n
The Investment Commission here said separately that hammered
\nby Asia's financial turmoil, Taiwan's overseas investment in
\nsoutheast Asia fell sharply in the first half of 1998.<\/p>\n
Taiwan's total overseas investment, excluding that in rival
\nmainland China, rose 18.09 percent to $1.488 billion in January-
\nJune from the same 1997 period -- but investment shrank
\nsignificantly in southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Taiwan interests indirectly invested $695 million in mainland
\nChina, up a brisk 40.22 percent from the year-earlier period, the
\ncommission said. Nationalist-ruled Taiwan has had no direct ties
\nto the communist mainland since a 1949 civil war split and all
\ninvestment must be routed through third places.<\/p>\n
Taiwan investment into Moslem-majority Indonesia, where ethnic
\nChinese have been the target of mob violence, fell 76 percent
\nfrom a year earlier, the commission said. It gave no exact
\nfigure.<\/p>\n
\"In addition to consideration of economic factors,
\n(Indonesia's) political problems and strong anti-Chinese
\nsentiment discouraged Taiwan investors, who have adopted a wait-
\nand-see attitude,\" it said.<\/p>\n
\"Investment shrank sharply as a result,\" it said.<\/p>\n
Crisis-hit Malaysia and the Philippines also saw declines,
\nwith investment dropping a year-on-year 72 percent and 51
\npercent, respectively.<\/p>\n
The government's appeal for Taiwan firms to lend a financial
\nhelping hand by investing in southeast Asia has largely been
\nignored, with a majority of investment going to central American
\ntax havens and the United States.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-not-good-for-investment-now-taiwan-official-1447893297",
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