Construction industry leaders yesterday urged Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) to relax legal restrictions on domestic construction firms investing in China in order to fulfill President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) pledges.
“Responding to our call, the premier told us that he will take this issue to the Executive Yuan meeting,” Lai Cheng-i (賴正鎰), chairman of the Taichung-based real estate developer Shining Group (鄉林集團), said following a meeting between Liu and industry leaders.
Lai said that Taiwan’s construction firms were obstructed by regulations governing investment in Chinese real estate and construction projects.
“Only individuals can invest without legal constraints,” he said.
In 2002, the government gave the green light for real estate investment in China, allowing Taiwanese real estate business owners to bid on the Chinese market. However, because of investment protection reasons, the amount of a single investment and investment targets are still under strict guidelines, thus blocking most of the construction and real estate companies from entering the lucrative China market in full force.
A potential relaxation of the rules is part the new administration’s commitments to deregulate cross-strait investment, said Theodore Huang (黃茂雄), chairman of the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (工商協進會).
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