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Government forms investment fund to target Middle East

The government launched a NT$280 million (US$8.6 million) fund last month to invest in emerging Middle Eastern markets in cooperation with the private sector, a government official said yesterday.

The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) hopes to tap into the Middle East market through the Taiwan International Development Corp (台灣國際開發公司), Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Hsieh Fa-dah (謝發達) said at a press briefing yesterday.

"The government has attempted to seize business opportunities in the Middle East over the past year through government agencies. But as government agencies are less efficient than private investors, it was decided that the Taiwan International Development Corporation would be better led by private investors," Hsieh said.

"The CEPD national development fund will invest no more than NT$800 million, or 40 percent of the corporation's capitalization, while private investors will provide the remaining 60 percent," Hsieh said.

The Taiwan International Development Corporation is planning to invest in power plants and seawater desalination facilities in the Middle East.

Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) has invited companies including state-owned China Steel Corp (CSC, 中國鋼鐵), Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Taiwan Fertilizer Co, Ltd (台灣肥料), Teco Electric and Machinery Co (東元電機) to discuss the new investment fund, the CEPD's latest press release showed.

The project has eight investors, including the government, with an estimated capital of NT$2.8 billion.

The corporation will begin by investing in Middle Eastern BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects, the CEPD said in its latest report.

Meanwhile, National Chengkung University signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia's DevCorp on Oct. 16 to jointly invest in a Red Sea fishing project, CEPD Minister Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) told a press briefing yesterday.

In addition, "companies including Taiwan Water Corp (台灣自來水公司), state-run Taiwan Power Co (台電) and Taiwan Cogeneration Corp (台汽電) have teamed up with two Saudi Arabian companies to participate in the Ras Az Zawr IWPP bidding in Saudi Arabia, with an estimated investment of US$3 billion," Ho said.
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