The financial cap on single investments in China and restrictions on establishing high-tech manufacturing projects there will likely be eased, senior economic officials said yesterday.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Ruey-long (
Chen spoke to reporters after delivering a report on suggested revisions to the current "no haste, be patient" (
Revisions to the "no haste" policy were penned by a special task force chaired by Chen and received the unanimous approval of the officials, but Chen said that "more comprehensive study" had been requested on the easing of restrictions on the high-tech and petrochemical sectors.
Chen said further analysis of the these areas would be done quickly with the report finalized by the end of the month and submitted to the Executive Yuan, which will have final say on whether the revisions are implemented.
John Deng (鄧振中), vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (陸委會), who also attended the meeting, said that the government would "seriously evaluate" any request by Taiwanese businessmen to exceed the current US$50 million cap on single investments in China if it met certain conditions.
"If there is no more room in Taiwan for a particular industry to expand, most of the capital for the project comes from overseas or China and Taiwan's competitiveness will benefit from the investment, then we will consider permitting it," Deng said.
Careful examination of such investment projects would be done on a case-by-case basis, as opposed to a general loosening of the limit, Deng said.
Fearing an increased drain of capital out of Taiwan to investment projects in China, business-people should be encouraged to broaden their sources of capital, including foreign and Chinese sources.
Deng said the revision should be made from the standpoint of "keeping one's roots in Taiwan" and "managing the risks."
"Keeping one's roots in Taiwan" essentially means local businesses should keep core units in Taiwan, while "managing the risks" is aimed at encouraging diversified investment outside of China.
Acknowledging pressure from the business community to ease restrictions on cross-strait trade and investment, Deng said it was agreed at the meeting that close attention must be paid to the demands of business leaders and the trend of globalization in making revisions to the policy.
"Any new policy on investment in China must be flexible. We must be able to revise the policy as economic conditions change," Deng said.
He stressed that policy flexibility didn't mean "sudden and arbitrary alterations," but practical adjustments after careful study of economic indicators.
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