Chen asks Cabinet to reverse capital flowing into China

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday asked the Cabinet to draw up a plan to entice China-bound capital back to Taiwan after a US private equity fund announced a buyout bid for a Taiwanese chip testing company last month.

"Over the past few months, I have been soliciting opinions from business and industry," Chen said. "Everyone agreed that bringing back capital, particularly from China, to the local market is the best way to revive the stock market."

Chen made the remarks after visiting Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光), the world's largest chip testing and packaging company, in Kaohsiung yesterday.

A consortium led by the Carlyle Group hopes to buy ASE for NT$170 billion (US$5.3 billion). The government is concerned that local big-cap firms could be delisted from the local bourse after outright takeovers by foreign investors, which could impact on the nation's capital market.

Taiwanese roots

Chen yesterday expressed appreciation for the pledge made by ASE chairman and CEO Jason Chang (張虔生) that his group would keep its roots in Taiwan.

However, the president said that it was not fair to label local businesses' globalization efforts as attempts to abandon Taiwan.

He added that since his administration was built on the principles of insisting on a Taiwan-centered consciousness and promoting fairness and justice, a minority could not be allowed to monopolize resources and wealth.

Taiwan-first consciousness must be upheld to ensure the nation's sustainable development, Chen said.

While some have criticized his economic policies, he said that it was the norm in a pluralistic democracy to see different opinions, and added that his administration would not lose direction.

Chen said he created four indexes in July to gauge whether government policies have drifted away from the two main principles of Taiwan consciousness and justice.

The four indexes monitor increasing investment in Taiwan, job creation, narrowing the gap between rich and poor and blurring the difference between cities and counties.

Impact

Meanwhile, Jerry Peng (彭茂榮), a semiconductor industry analyst with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院), said yesterday that Carlyle's buyout bid would not have an immediate impact on Taiwan's semiconductor industry as their major customers are mostly in Taiwan.

However, growing demand means that local chip testing and packaging service providers are under growing pressure from global rivals to increase their presence in the fast-growing Chinese chip industry, Peng said.

China, which has surpassed Japan and the US as the world's biggest chip market, relies heavily on foreign manufacturers for chip supplies, as it only produces 20 percent of its total need, Peng said.

Additional reporting by Lisa Wang