The Executive Yuan yesterday approved draft amendments to the Statute for Investment by Foreign Nationals (外國人投資條例) and the Statute for Investment by Overseas Chinese (華僑回國投資條例) that would relax regulations on foreign and overseas investments.
The amendments would allow ordinary mergers, divisions and start-ups to be reported after the fact, Investment Commission Executive Secretary Emile Chang (張銘斌) said, adding that only more complex mergers and acquisitions would still require advance approval.
Of the 3,500 applications that the commission receives annually, 3,000 could be reported afterward, while only 500 would need preapproval, he said, adding that the new rules would simplify the process for foreign and overseas investments.
Photo: CNA
The exemption from advance application would apply to all cases except for those in which the investment exceeds a certain sum or involves a substantial percentage of shares; the investment is restricted; or the investor is a foreign government or in a region facing UN sanctions, he said.
The threshold would be US$1 million, but the Ministry of Economic Affairs still needs to discuss the issue with the central bank and other agencies, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said.
Chinese investments would still be governed by the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), she said.
Under current regulations, even if Chinese funds account for less than 30 percent of an investment, it would still require regulation if it can be determined that the funds have the ability to control the company making the investment, Chang said.
The draft amendments would also improve the transparency and predictability of reviews of foreign investments, the ministry said.
The competent authority would be required to request supplementary documentation within five days in case investors fail to submit complete documentation, it said.
The competent authority would also be required to approve or reject an application within a month, except in cases that involve other authorities, in which case the agencies would be given two months to reach a decision, it said.
The ministry is to announce clear criteria for approving or rejecting investment proposals, or restricting investments, to improve review efficiency, it said.
The draft amendments would also introduce new fines and penalties on unlawful investments, the ministry added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
THE GOOD WORD: More than 100 colleges on both sides of the Pacific will work together to bring students to Taiwan so they can learn Mandarin where it is spoken A total of 102 universities from Taiwan and the US are collaborating in a push to promote Taiwan as the first-choice place to learn Mandarin, with seven Mandarin learning centers stood up in the US to train and support teachers, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET) said. At the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held over the weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Taiwan Pavilion was jointly run by 17 representative teams from the FICHET, the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu, the
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
MORE RETALIATION: China would adopt a long-term pressure strategy to prevent other countries or future prime ministers following in Sanae Takaichi’s steps, an academic said Taiwan should maintain communications with Japan, as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is to lead a revision of security documents, Taiwanese academics said yesterday. Tensions have risen between Japan and China over remarks by Takaichi earlier this month that the use of force against Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Prospect Foundation president Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) yesterday said Takaichi’s stance regarding Taiwan is the same as past Japanese prime ministers, but her position is clearer than that of her predecessors Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba. Although Japan views a “Taiwan contingency” as a “survival-threatening situation,” which would allow its military to
RSS