Taiwan toning down 'Go South' investment

Taiwan toning down 'Go South' investment

TAIPEI (Dow Jones): Taiwan is toning down its "Go South"
policy, focusing more on helping Taiwan businesses cope in the
crisis-torn Southeast Asian countries rather than encouraging new
investment there, an official at the Council for Economic
Planning and Development, or CEPD, said Thursday.

"We'd like to take a wait-and-see attitude," in terms of
encouraging new investment in the region, Thomas Yeh, director
general of the economic research department at the CEPD said.
"For the time being, we're more interested in helping our
investors in the region."

The "Go South" policy was hatched a few years ago to nudge
Taiwan investors into the Southeast Asian region in an effort to
reduce the reliance on China as a base for operations.

However, after the riots in Indonesia and amid the current
political turmoil in Malaysia, the policy is being scrutinized by
local businesses, activists and politicians.

The government is now concentrating more on helping Taiwan
businesses control the damage to their Southeast Asian
operations.

"Once the political situation in Malaysia is overcome, I think
our investment there will increase again," Yeh said. "But for
now, we should take some time out and see what the situation will
be."

Taiwan is Malaysia's second-largest direct foreign investor
and one of the biggest investors in Indonesia.

Taiwan's largest venture capital company, China Development
Corp., recently established its Southeast Asian investment
company. Twenty-one companies have pledged a total of NT$10.1
billion for investments in Southeast Asian businesses.