Taipei ruling party invests down under

Taipei ruling party invests down under

TAIPEI (DPA): Taiwan's ruling party has begun its US$3.7- billion investment in Australia starting with a shrimp farm, newspapers said Saturday.

The party has formed a 3.5-million-Australian-dollar joint venture shrimp farm - Aussie Prawn Pty Ltd - near Darwin, the newspapers quoted Yang Tsung-che, head of the party's Central Development Corp, as saying.

The company plans to buy land in the North Territory to build two shrimp farms, one 227 hectares and the other 4,000 hectares, Yang said.

Australia needs to import 6,000 tons of shrimps each year. Shrimps from the two farms will make Australia self-sufficient, he said.

The ruling party is negotiating with Australia about helping Taiwan fish and shrimp farmers emigrate to North Australia, the China Times and the Economic Daily News said.

Australia agreed but requires the farmers to be able to speak English, they said.

The ruling party revealed its plan to invest US$3.7 billion in Australia last May. President Lee Teng-hui, party chairman, reportedly supports the plan because it would find a way out for industries that are no longer fit to develop in Taiwan.

The biggest investment project will be building a 1,400- kilometer railway from Alice Springs to Darwin, and using the land along the rail to grow crops and raise cattle.

The ruling party owns about 10 firms which invest in a wide range of businesses - from farming to hi-tech - at home and abroad.

Taiwan, which is recognized by only 31 countries, hopes to strengthen unofficial ties through investment and trade - with countries that recognize China.