Taiwan's economy is ranked 21st in the world in terms of GDP and is the 16th-largest in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said in a statement yesterday, citing chairman Hu Sheng-cheng (
The statement did not specify the GDP and PPP figures, however.
In a speech on the nation's economic development and its financial market on Thursday in New York, Hu said that up to 34 percent of the total market value of the nation's listed companies is owned by foreign investors, underlining an active foreign shareholding in Taiwan, the statement said.
Hu said the financial regulator would continue welcoming and encouraging foreign investment in Taiwan, emphasizing that foreign investors could also use local market presence to reach out to other economies in Asia.
"As of the end of 2006, Taiwan was the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, the third-largest foreign investor in Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, and the sixth-biggest in the Philippines and Indonesia," the statement quoted Hu as saying in the speech.
Excluding Taiwanese investment in China by way of the British Virgin Islands, Taiwan is the third-largest foreign investor in China, after Japan and the US, Hu said.
Hu is leading a delegation scheduled to attend investment seminars in New York and London. The seminars, organized by Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp, are aimed at bringing more investment to the nation's financial markets.
The delegation will introduce Taiwan's investment environment and financial market development to US and European investors and mutual fund managers.
Other delegation members include FSC councilor Gary Tseng (曾國烈), FSC Securities and Futures Bureau director-general Wu Tang-chieh (吳當傑) and deputy director-general Lee Chi-hsien (李季憲).
Officials from the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Taiwan Futures Exchange and GRETAI Securities Market will also deliver briefings on Taiwan's securities and banking regulations at the seminars, the commission said.
Meanwhile, representatives from the nation's 14 listed and over-the-counter enterprises in the high-tech, financial services, telecommunications and traditional industries are expected to hold their own investment roadshows during this trip, it said.
Among these private companies are Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), MediaTek Inc (聯發科), High Tech Computer Corp (宏達電), Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) and Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大).
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