Foreign investment for Jan.-to-Sept. period grows by 8.89%

November 6, 2007

As strong stock market has given foreign investors a favorable outlook on Taiwan, foreign investment has increased for the Jan. to Sept. period, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Investment Commission.

From Jan. to Sept, total foreign investment grew by 8.89% year-on-year, while the number of Taiwan investment projects in Mainland China decreased by 2.41%. However the investment total grew by 28.8%, said the Investment Commission.

According to statistics from the Investment Commission, in Sept. there were 193 approved foreign investment projects, worth a total of USD 834.662 million.

For the Jan. to Sept period, there were a total of 1,610 approved projects, 30.05% year-on-year increase. The projects for this period were worth a total of over USD 10.16 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 8.89%.

One of the main reasons for increased investment in Sept. was that foreign investors have been optimistic about Taiwan's investment environment, which means more multinational companies and private equity companies are coming to Taiwan to engage in mergers and acquisitions, said Emile Chang, Vice Executive Secretary of the Investment Commission.

One recent and notable investor is SimpleTech Inc., which has applied to remit USD 92.437485 million to invest in Great Achievement Trading Co. Ltd in order to submit a public tender offer to Primax Electronics.

The Investment Commission also reported that in Sept., there were 44 outbound investment projects reported, worth a total of USD 323.605 million. The Jan.-to-Sept. period yielded a total of 367 projects cases, virtually no change compared to the same period last year. However, the investment amount totaled USD 3.1695 billion, growing by 15.01%.

The commission approved 77 Mainland China-bound investments worth a total of USD 619.127 billion. Notable projects include Honhai Precision's investment of NTD 64.6 million in its China operations, and Long Chen Paper Co. Ltd's investment of USD 55 million in Zhejiang Province. For the Jan. to Sept. period, there were a total of 770 investment projects – a 2.41% decrease over last year. However, the investment amount surpassed USD 6.85 million, a 28.8% increase on the previous year.

(United Daily News)

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