30 percent of manufacturing industries to be allowed for Chinese investment: Yiin

Yiin said that a set of regulations governing Chinese investments in Taiwan have been submitted to the Cabinet for deliberation, under which a positive listing of businesses allowed for Chinese investments on the island will be adopted to gradually liberalize such investments.

The minister continued that the manufacturing industries covered by the bridging program include photovoltaic, in-car information/communications, aircraft, LED (light emitting diode) lighting, wind power, auto, foodstuff. logistics, precision machinery and information services.

Yiin said that the government will not open the semiconductor industry to Chinese investments, but is still weighing the possibility of allowing Chinese enterprises to invest in the flat panel display industry.

The government will stick to three principles in liberalizing Chinese investments in Taiwan. First, the investments can help to boost the competitiveness of domestic industries; second, the investments can complement the development of local industries; and third, the investments shouldn't undermine the development of domestic industries.

As for the service industries that will be open to Chinese investments, Yiin said the Mainland Affairs Council will come up with a positive list of service businesses for mainland Chinese investments, after coordinating opinions from various sectors.

Just one day earlier, an initial positive list of permitted items for Chinese investments in Taiwan was concluded during an inter-ministerial meeting, including new-town development and sewerage construction of the 12 i-Taiwan (Love Taiwan) projects but excluding the real estate sector and general service industries.

In response, Chairman Lai Chen-yi of the Council for Industrial and Commercial Development, said he's a little disappointed about the Cabinet's decision to adopt a positive listing of industries allowed for Chinese investments on the island, adding that such a policy would hardly help to accelerate domestic economic recovery.

Lai continued that he felt quite surprised to find that real estate and general service sectors have failed to be among the initial list of industries which mainland Chinese can invest in Taiwan. He urged the government to open such sectors to investment by mainland Chinese enterprises to effectively fuel a domestic economic upturn.

Lai called for the government to open domestic markets broader and faster to Chinese investments by adopting a negative listing of industries rejecting Chinese investments.

Nevertheless, the General Chamber of Commerce of the ROC and the Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Association yesterday voiced their support for the government's positive listing policy, on grounds that while quite a few nationals still worry about possible adverse impacts of liberalizing Chinese investments in Taiwan, it's necessary for the government to sustain a certain degree of flexibility in the pace of liberalization.

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