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Business chief urges looser restrictions

The incoming chairman of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association (電電公會, TEEMA), Arthur Chiao (焦佑鈞), officially took up his position yesterday, urging the government to loosen the restrictions on cross-strait trade to help the industry prosper.

"After years of cultivation in China, Taiwanese investment in the market is now about to bear fruit," Chiao said at the ceremony to mark his inauguration and the association's 60th anniversary celebration yesterday.

Chaio, also chairman of Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子), took over the position from Rock Hsu (許勝雄), chairman of Kinpo Group (金仁寶集團), who had headed the nation's largest industrial organization for the past six years.

Cross-strait issues concerning the association include the 40 percent cap on investments in China, which the government should adjust upwards or make more flexible to facilitate the large number of China-bound Taiwanese companies, Chaio said.

Because most of the local workforce refuses to work night shifts, Chaio also expressed the hope that the government would relax the regulations for high-tech firms employing foreign laborers.

Currently, high-tech companies with a capitalization of more than NT$1 billion (US$30.5 million) are eligible to hire foreign laborers. The number of foreign workers must constitute 10 percent or less of the company's total workforce.

The investment threshold was raised from NT$500 million in 2005, while the percentage of foreign laborers was lowered from 15 percent or less.

The Council of Labor Affairs has said that it would continue tightening its foreign labor policy in the high-tech industry by transferring the sector's quota to other businesses.

One task the new chairman will take on is to expand the scale of the nation's computer and electronics exhibitions, especially after a new exhibition hall is inaugurated next year, Chaio said.

As most manufacturing in the industry has moved to overseas markets, the association will help its 4,000 members to add more value to their products and turn Taiwan into a research and development, innovation and operations center, he said.

Citing statistics compiled by the association, former chairman Hsu said Taiwan's upstream and downstream electrical and electronic industries produced US$195.3 billion worth of goods last year. The figure accounted for 50.9 percent of the nation's total industrial output last year, showing the significance of the sector's contribution, Hsu said.

Exports by the industry were US$114.52 billion, or 51.1 percent of the nation's total exports, Hsu said. Imports by the sector last year were US$61.95 billion, or 30.6 percent of the nation's total, he said.

With a superior business environment and global resources, Taiwan should move towards becoming the research and development, shipping, operations and capital hub of the Asia-Pacific region to continue attracting foreign investment, Hsu said.

Echoing Chaio, Hsu suggested the government adjust its cross-strait policy to increase the competitiveness of local companies in the world market.
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