Taiwan investment in mainland China stood at US$10.9 billion for 2012, down 16.61 percent from 2011, a three-year low, the Investment Commission said Jan. 21.
A commission official said investment in mainland China by Taiwan manufacturers had already reached a critical threshold, and that coupled with changes in the mainland China’s business environment, it was clear that Taiwan businesses were reorienting toward Association of Southeast Asian Nations members.
Further breakdown of the investment figures showed the main investment driver was the electronics component sector, which invested US$3.47 billion in 2012, down 43.81 percent year on year. The second biggest sector was financial services, where investment stood at US$1.24 billion, or up 38.11 percent year on year.
These figures reflected the downturn in the mainland China market and structural adjustments in its manufacturing sector, the official said. Taiwan investors had turned to ASEAN, and Taiwan’s future investment in mainland China would likely focus on the services sector, he added.
Also worth noting was that external investment, excluding mainland China, hit a new high of US$8.10 billion, up 119 percent year on year. The commission said this figure was inflated by MediaTek Inc.’s US$3.77 billion takeover of MStar Semiconductor Inc., but excluding this case, the figure was higher than the previous year.
The reorientation of investment toward the ASEAN region was also one of the factors behind the increase in foreign investment, and the case was clearest for Vietnam, where investment was US$943 million in 2012, up 106 percent year on year.
As for mainland Chinese investment in Taiwan in 2012, this benefited from China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., China Merchants Holdings Co. and China Shipping (Group) Co. together investing NT$4.05 billion (US$139 million) in Kao Ming Container Terminal Corp., which was the largest investment in Taiwan by mainland Chinese firms, and the first mainland Chinese investment in a local infrastructure project. At the same time, the Bank of Communications and Bank of China set up branches in Taiwan, bringing total mainland Chinese investment in Taiwan to US$328 million, 6.5 times higher than the previous year. (SDH)