The planned Grand Taiwan Investment policy, which would provide foreign investors and domestic funds with a mechanism to invest in Taiwan’s strategic industries without upsetting the market order, is to be discussed at the first meeting of the Executive Yuan’s Economic Development Committee today.
The committee, planned and established by the Executive Yuan and chaired by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), aims to introduce economic innovations, balance Taiwan and be inclusive regarding market growth.
Cho said the government’s previous policy to encourage Taiwanese businesspeople abroad to return to Taiwan was a great success and he hoped that the Grand Taiwan Investment policy would entice more foreigners to invest in Taiwan.
Photo: Tu Chien-rong, Taipei Times
Taiwanese tend to keep their money in savings policies, such as with insurance firms, and most of these policies purchase foreign bonds or other products, Cho said.
The total value of these policies is about NT$30 trillion (US$919.79 billion), but 70 percent of the funds are in overseas accounts, he said.
However, the overhead costs of exchanging foreign currency alone total hundreds of millions of New Taiwan dollars per year, Cho said.
The government is considering possible platforms to inject such capital into Taiwan’s strategic industries, such as long-term healthcare, urban renewal projects and innovative technology, he said.
The policy also hopes to attract foreign industries and companies, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) added.
Cho said that encouraging such a large amount of capital to remain in the market would inevitably lead to market competition, which could upset the market order.
Today, the committee would discuss plans and measures to prevent such disturbances, Cho said, adding that further details would be discussed in more depth at a meeting with the National Development Council’s consultants next month.
While geopolitics in the region is causing some global tension, there is no shortage of international companies willing to invest in Taiwan, either in factories or data centers, Cho said.
This highlights that Taiwan occupies an indelible and irreplaceable position in the global production chain and in terms of global technology development, he added.
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