Recently, Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) began its fourth-time review of restrictions on Island’s Investments by Mainland Chinese as the basis of whether or not to allow mainland Chinese investors to hold more stakes in the island’s high-tech firms.

The ministry is assessing the feasibility of conditionally allowing mainland Chinese investors to hold more stakes in the island’s three strategic hi-tech industries, including semiconductor, LCD panel and LED manufacturing.

Date back to 2008, the island has eased the restrictions, in three stages, on inbound investments by mainland Chinese investors along with the improving relationship between Taiwan and the mainland.
on June 1, 2009, the island has taken its first-stage liberalization, opening 205 industrial sectors to mainland Chinese investors.

The second stage and third stage came in 2011 and 2012, respectively, totally opening 97% of the island’s manufacturing sectors and 51% of the island’s services and public construction sectors to the mainland investors.

Although Taiwan already opens 97% of its manufacturing sectors to the mainland investors, the ministry is considering whether or not to allow the investors to acquire more ownership in some of the industrial segments, in which the mainland investors are kept from holing “controlling stakes”.

When asked whether further restriction easing would impact Taiwan’s manufacturers as the trade relation between the two sides has swung to competition status from complement, Economics Minister Y.H. Shih pointed out that his ministry will definitely take a holistic view in the consideration.

It estimated the fourth-stage easing would help the struggling Taiwanese LCD, solar-cell and LED industries emerge from mired situation using the mainland’s huge domestic markets.