In response to President Chen Shui-bian's (
As part of the plan, an inspection team will study business opportunities in Southeast Asia. The team is scheduled to be led by Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (
Chen wants business leaders to pursue more opportunities in Southeast Asia.
"It's good to create fortunes overseas. Taiwan's national security, however, should be considered a top priority and the public interest must be put first," Chen said
Vice Premier Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) encouraged the policy initiative.
"The Southeast Asian market has a population totalling some 500 million and some countries in that region offer tax exemptions and feature low-cost labor," he said. "China is only one market in a vast web of world markets."
Lin advised entrepreneurs to revise their strategies now.
"Taiwan should act quickly because China plans to ink a free trade agreement with ASEAN," he said.
Taiwan has rapidly increased its investments in China over the past five years, while the total amount of investments in Southeast Asia has dwindled.
The total amount of investment in Southeast Asia was US$4.5 billion in 1996, while that in China for the same year was US$5.1 billion. The amount in Southeast Asia fell to US$1.4 billion last year while that in China skyrocketed to US$6.9 billion.
Indonesia tops the list for accumulated foreign investment among the Southeast Asian countries with US$12.8 billion, followed by Thailand with US$10.5 billion and Malaysia with US$9.1 billion.
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