Taiwan must liberalize rules to allow its companies to invest more freely in China, Minister of Finance Yen Ching-chang (
As orders from the US and other markets dry up, investment restrictions are limiting alternative sources of revenue for Taiwanese companies. Investment rules that reflect capital flows need to be adopted, Yen said.
"Our government needs to face reality that globalization ... means that our companies must expand into China," Yen said from Washington via video link to the CLSA Global Emerging Markets Investors Forum in Hong Kong.
Taiwan, which is at political loggerheads with China, limits investment in projects there to US$50 million and forbids local companies from investing in advanced technology manufacturing.
Companies are also discouraged from investing in public works projects, such as airports and electric power stations.
Taiwan also needs to improve investment conditions to ensure companies want to stay based there, Yen said.
The government has pledged to make investment rules more transparent and to attract foreign banks to merge with local ones as part of its effort to strengthen the financial system.
Taiwanese companies such as Giant Manufacturing Co (
Taiwan's economy is slowing, with unemployment rising to a record 4.1 percent in April. In southern Taiwan, the jobless rate is as high as 8 percent.
Like South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, Taiwan has fallen victim to a sharp drop in global demand for electronic equipment.
Yen also said that the Ministry of Finance is planning to sponsor 11 investment seminars in the United States and Europe in June in the hopes of luring between US$15 billion and US$25 billion in capital inflow to stimulate Taiwan's stock market.
Yen, accompanied by the Deputy Governor of the central bank Chen Shih-meng (
Yen said that for the year up to April 30, the net value of foreign capital injected into Taiwan's stock market hit US$4.2 billion, almost half the figure of US$8.7 billion for the whole of 2000. The minister said there should be adequate room for foreign capital in Taiwan's stock market.
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