Taiwan to unshackle investment for China

Taiwan to unshackle investment for China

Agence France-Presse, Taipei

Taiwan is set to fully open some 1,722 items for China-bound investment that currently require case-by-case review, in line with its recent easing of mainland policy, officials said Friday.

"We expect to free most of the 1,722 items from case-by-case review to the general category under which they would no longer need prior approval from the government," said an Investment Commission spokesman.

Meanwhile the number of items now barred from mainland investment would be reduced from the present 195 to below 150, he said.

Products requiring case-by-case review include man-made fiber, automobiles and a variety of electronics goods. Those banned from China-bound investment include wafer foundry, notebook computers and upstream petrochemical projects.

Taiwan has already approved 5,264 China-bound investment items under the general category at this point.

A government-led panel is due to announce later this month which items are to remain banned for China-bound investment, the spokesman said.

The move came in line with a cabinet decision Wednesday to ease the island's policy towards investment in China from Jan. 1 to integrate cross-strait economies.

The relaxation includes allowing direct investment to the mainland, removing a US$50 million ceiling on single projects and raising investment limits for locally listed companies.

It also permits direct dealings between financial institutions and lifts from $3 million to more than $20 million the amount that can be spent on a China-bound project without prior approval.