Taiwan rebutted pressure from US trade negotiators to further liberalize the telecommunication sector, saying measures already implemented had surpassed accession commitments under the WTO.
"Unjustifiable" was the term Teng Tien-lai (
"We have done more than we promised," said Teng, pointing to the granting of three fixed-line telecom service operator licenses to foreign-invested firms last March and five landing licenses for submarine cable operators, of which foreign firms are permitted to invest in a stake of up to 60 percent.
"We're not obligated to do that until July 1 this year," Teng said.
He was responding to remarks made Wednesday by a US trade delegation currently in Taiwan.
Teng was supported by Wu Wen-ya (
International submarine cable company Asia Global Crossing Taiwan (AGC) is a good example, Teng said. AGC, which is partnered locally with stake holder-Microelectronics Technology Inc who has a 40 percent share in the company, is a joint venture between Japan's Softbank and US giant Microsoft Corp.
Teng also stressed that a draft amendment to the Telecommunications Act, which will allow more foreign ownership of type-1 telecom enterprises, had also been approved recently.
The amended law would lift the direct ownership maximum from 20 percent to 49 percent, and the combined direct and indirect ownership from 60 percent to 74.5 percent.
The US trade delegation had also complained about the NT$40 billion in capitalization and one million subscribers companies must have to qualify for a fixed-line license.
But Teng said the requirements were to "protect customers."
"We have these conditions because becoming a fixed operator is a huge business in this country ... You must prove you have customers and be able to support the business for more than 10 years," he said.
RSS