Yearly foreign investment amount hits record high, increased foreign investment in IT, finance, and energy

November 17, 2006

Standard Chartered's majority purchase of the Hsinchu International Bank boosted the foreign investment total in Taiwan for the year to a record-breaking USD 10.7 billion, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs Investment Commission.

Taiwan's finance and IT industries have brought in quite a bit of foreign capital this year, making for an excellent showing of foreign investment, said an official from the Investment Commission.

One recent trend for foreign investors has been to invest in Taiwan's energy industry, said the official, who cited two projects approved yesterday by the commission: a UK company Asia Wind Power's investment in the Luwei Wind Power Generation Company and the Dutch-invested Guoguang Power in Guansii.

The government has actually allowed 100% foreign ownership of power generation plants for at least seven years, said the official.

But it was not until this year that international investors discovered "new value" in Taiwan, with a renewed interest in green energy due to rising petroleum prices, he said.

The Standard Chartered deal, in which the company has purchased a 51% stake in the Hsinchu International bank, is the largest single investment amount this year at USD 1.23 billion, and was approved at an Investment Commission committee meeting with no objections.

(Economic Daily News)

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