Taiwan Opens More Manufacturing Industries To Mainland Chinese Investors

2012/02/21 Taipei, Feb. 21, 2012 (CENS)—The Executive Yuan, Taiwan's Cabinet, recently gave the thumbs up to the Ministry of Economic Affairs' (MOEA's) proposal to allow mainland Chinese to invest in an additional 150 of the island's industries across manufacturing, services and public-work project sectors. This is Taiwan's another round of industry opening to the mainland's investors after two other rounds in President Ma Yingjeou's first four-year term, which began in 2008. The lately approved list lay out 25 public project items including hypermarts on offshore islands, big logistics facilities, trade-exhibition buildings, and new township development. The added items will increase the total number of the public project types opened to the mainland's investors to account for 54% of Taiwan's public-project industry. Taiwan offers mainland Chinese investment incentives for their investments in the island's public projects as it does to foreign investors. Tourism agency and other 24 services sectors excluding telecom service are included in the approved services-industry list. In the sector, the mainland's investors are limited to the ceiling of holding no more than 50% stakes in an individual company. Also, Taiwan requests the mainland's authorities to treat Taiwan's investors in the mainland's services industries on national treatment term in accordance with WTO requirements. The latest opening approval, which will take effect sometime next month, will bring the total number of the manufacturing industries that Taiwan government agrees to open to mainland Chinese investors to at least 190, which account for around 90% of the some 210 manufacturing industries on the government's manufacturing-industry classification list. Taiwan has already opened 89 manufacturing industries to the mainland's investors. The manufacturing industries the island will open to the mainland's investors include LED, household appliance, H beam steel, and foods processing. MOEA officials pointed out that the approved manufacturing-industry list does not include steel refinery, Chinese herbal medicine, printing and part of foods industry because of strong objections from the manufacturers.