Chinese investors will be allowed to indirectly invest up to 30 percent in local companies, Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said yesterday, while announcing that a total of 99 sectors in manufacturing, services and public works would open to Chinese capital.
But the ministry would reject forms of Chinese investment that could exert control over local companies, such as securing enough board seats to wield excessive influence or taking up executive positions, Yiin said.
“The ministry is taking careful steps to carry out this measure on the premise of caution first and then steadily expanding the number of businesses once these measures start to bear fruit,” Yiin said.
“At this point, we have listed a specific number of industries that will be affected [by the liberalization], but as more and more [industries] are announced, the industries that are opened to Chinese investments will significantly outweigh those that are not,” he said.
The ministry expects the first-phase opening to take place on June 1 after the Executive Yuan passes the new rules, Yiin said.
In the manufacturing sector, 65 industries out of 212, or approximately 30 percent, will open to investment.
“To facilitate cross-strait business collaboration, herbal medicine and automobiles will be the priority industries,” Yiin said.
“[Other priority businesses] are upstream and downstream supply-chain enterprises, such as textiles, fabrics, plastics and plastics-related goods, as well as machinery used to produce plastic, textile and agricultural products,” Yiin said.
Automobiles and vehicle components for cars, motorcycles and bicycles will also be included.
Other manufacturing industries, including electronic components, computer peripherals, TVs, washing machines, refrigerators, DVD players, mobile handsets and telephones will also be included in the first phase, Yiin added.
Sensitive industries such as semiconductors and thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal-display panels will be left out to protect the nation’s proprietary technology, the ministry said.
Most importantly, “anything related to national defense or that could jeopardize the nation’s defense will be excluded, including state-run enterprises CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Taiwan Power Co (台電), as well as primary telecommunications operators,” Yiin said.
In the services arena, 23 industries, including hotels, department stores, supermarkets, restaurants, chain stores, retailers and wholesalers, will also be included in the first-phase opening because of their direct contribution to the nation’s commercial, wholesale and retail businesses.
To facilitate cross-strait transportation, sea and air shipping and related services will also be included, the ministry said.
Chinese investment in any businesses that involve educational and professional credentials, such as legal and accounting firms, will be delayed, if not excluded, Yiin said.
In the realm of public works, 14 percent, or 11 industries, including seaport, airport and tourism infrastructure, will be opened.
Tony Phoo (符銘財), chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said any government steps to liberalize cross-strait trade should be encouraged as they could help spur economic growth.
“Two-way capital flows are long overdue,” Phoo said by telephone. “Although the pace of opening is slow and limited, the deregulation will still be positive and favorable for Taiwan in the long run.”
Some analysts disagreed, however. On Monday, Liang Chi-yuan (梁啟源), a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Economics, warned that an inflow of Chinese capital might be used to manipulate the domestic stock market.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CRYSTAL HSU
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS