Taiwan Approves US$187 Million Mainland-bound InvestmentTaiwan on Tuesday approved 21 mainland-bound investment projects worth US$187.35 million.They included projects by Taiwan Glass, Chunghwa Picture Tube, Giga-Byte Technology, and China Airlines. The Investment Commission gave the greenlight to Taiwan Glass Industrial Corporation's US$35 million project to build a glass fiber manufacturing firm and Chunghwa Pictures Tube's nearly US$30 million investment in a related operation. Currently, mainland-bound investments from the island must be made through third parties, mostly Hong Kong or tax-haven islands in the Caribbean. Taiwanese companies have poured about US$70 billion into the mainland since authorities here relaxed civil exchanges between the two sides in 1987. Taiwan has adopted a "go slow" policy on mainland-bound investments since 1996 aimed at reducing the island's economic dependence on the mainland and to prevent an exodus of capital and technological know-how. The policy bans single investments worth more than US$50 million, infrustructure and advanced technology projects. However, such investments are often made through foreign subsidiaries of Taiwan companies. |
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