Taiwan opens more sectors

Taiwan authorities would today listen to a report on lifting bans on investment from the mainland into 21 infrastructure items, Taiwan's United Daily News reported Sunday.

Among the 21 items, seven would be open for investment unconditionally, including construction of expressway service areas, and the other 14 would open with conditions, including Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transport (LRT) and transport stations, the report said.

Substantial progress would be announced as early as this March, with bans lifted for manufacturing, service industry and infrastructure construction, according to the report.

Taiwan officially allowed investment from the mainland beginning June 2009, and the Taiwan authorities unveiled the second group of items open for mainland investment last March, but did not see good results, said Wang Jianmin, an economic researcher with the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

"Less than 30 percent of sectors have been opened to the mainland in the first two stages, and all are with thin profits, so the opening policies have limited appeal to companies from the mainland," said Wang.

By the end of 2011, only 204 companies from the mainland have invested a total of NT$5.5 billion (US$183 million) in Taiwan, according to Wang.

Taiwan was not quite open to the mainland investment, but there will be more economic exchanges after Ma Ying-jeou won the reelection in January as Taiwan's leader, said Peng Weixue, researcher with CASS' Institute of Taiwan Studies.

"As eurozone crisis aggravates, Taiwan needs to get more aid from the mainland for development, and for Ma, economic achievement is the focus, so the economic and trade cooperation would be further strengthened in the future, including both investment and tourists from the mainland," Peng noted.

However, Ma was still too conservative in economic cooperation between the mainland and Taiwan, Wang believed.

"The limitations to the mainland investment and opening of Taiwan in small steps are not good for Taiwan's economy," said Wang, who expressed doubts about Ma's economic cooperation policy.

The 21 infrastructure items are only open for investment, but mainland engineering companies are not allowed to bid for projects, said Lee Hong-yuan, the head of Taiwan's Public Construction Commission.

There is still a gap of NT$200 billion for infrastructure investment, Lee said.