Taiwan's 2007 Investment Climate Statement (Part II)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TAIPEI 000073

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TAGS: EINV EFIN ECON PINR OPIC KTDB USTR TW
SUBJECT: Taiwan's 2007 Investment Climate Statement (Part II)

REF: 06 STATE 178303

This is the second part of Taiwan's 2007 Investment Climate
Statement. The first part has been sent septel.

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B. Bilateral Investment Agreements
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39. Taiwan has concluded bilateral investment guaranty agreements
with the following 26 countries: Argentina, Belize, Burkina Faso,
Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India,
Indonesia, Liberia, Malaysia, Macedonia, the Marshall Islands,
Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, Singapore, Swaziland, Thailand, Malawi, and Vietnam. In
addition, there is an agreement to guaranty Taiwan's investment in
Malawi and other agreements to protect U.S. investment in Taiwan
(see next paragraph). (An agreement with Latvia signed in 1992 was
revoked in August 2004.)


40. Under the terms of the 1948 Friendship, Commerce, and
Navigation Treaty with the United States, U.S. investors are
generally accorded national treatment and are provided with a number
of protections, including protection against expropriation. Taiwan
and the United States also have an agreement, signed in 1952,
pertaining to investment guarantees that serve as the basis for the
U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) program in
Taiwan. In September 1994, representatives of the United States and
Taiwan signed a bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement
(TIFA) to serve as the basis for consultations on trade and
investment issues. Consultations on a bilateral investment
agreement between the United States and Taiwan began in 1996, and
the latest round took place in Taipei in 2006.

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C. OPIC and Other Investment-Insurance Programs
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41. OPIC programs are available to U.S. investors, though U.S.
investors have never filed an OPIC insurance claim for an investment
in Taiwan. Taiwan is not a member of the Multilateral Investment
Guaranty Agency.

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D. Labor
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42. As a result of Taiwan's changing industrial structure, labor
shortages exist in hi-tech fields including semiconductor and
computer chip design and production, computer software design, flat
panel and display manufacturing, network-related technology, and
telecommunications engineering. To address this issue, Taiwan has
removed the job experience requirement for foreigners with graduate
degrees and relaxed restrictions on hiring foreign students or
recent graduates as interns. Taiwan began employment of foreign
blue-collar workers in 1990 when Taiwan was a full employment
economy with labor shortages. However, in the early 2000s, the
relatively high unemployment rate prompted the authorities to
restrict employment of foreign workers, reducing foreign workers in
Taiwan by eight percent between 2000 and 2003. Economic expansion
in 2004 prompted Taiwan authorities to slightly relax restrictions
and foreign workers in Taiwan rose 4.6% to 314,034 persons in 2004
and 4.2% to 327,396 persons in 2005.


43. There are no special hiring practices in Taiwan. Wages
typically include a one-month bonus at the end of a year. Fringe
benefits often include meals, transportation, and dormitory housing.

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Dividend-sharing is common among high-tech industries which,
however, will be reduced in response to foreign portfolio investors'
request. A standard labor insurance program is mandatory. The
program provides maternity, retirement, and other benefits. A new
retirement system implemented in July 2005 abolishes the voluntary
retirement scheme under an old system which still covers 30% of
total employment population. The old system grants employees with
voluntary retirement at age of 55 years and a length of service of
15 years. Employees hired after July 2005 must join the new system
with the retirement age being 60. The new system requires employers
to contribute six percent of their monthly wage to accounts at
designated banking institutions. The accounts follow employees
transferred from one employer to another. A universal national
health insurance system covers all employees and their families.


44. Taiwan provides unemployment relief based on the Employment
Insurance Law enacted in 2002. Alternatives for unemployment pay
include vocational training allowance for jobless persons and
employment subsidies to encourage employment of jobless persons.
The Labor Standards Law (LSL) sets a standard eight-hour workday and
a biweekly maximum of 84 hours. Legislation adopted in late 2000
set a five-day workweek for the public sector, effective January

2001. Over half of private firms have adopted the five-day
workweek. The LSL restricts child labor and requires employers to
provide overtime pay, severance pay, and retirement benefits. The
LSL covers both manufacturing and service sectors. Violators are
liable to criminal penalties (jail terms) and administrative
punishments (fines).


45. The minimum wage is set at NT$15,840 (US$487) per month.
Current manufacturing sector wages average NT$43,958 (US$1,353). In
principle, the minimum wage is adjusted in August every year based
on the results of collective negotiation between the Chinese
National Federation of Industries and the Chinese Federation of
Labor Unions. However, for the past eight years, the minimum wage
has not been adjusted.


46. Labor unions have become more active and independent since
Taiwan's martial law was lifted in 1987. Privatization and the new
retirement system contributed to an increase in labor disputes in

2005. Taiwan is not a member of the International Labor
Organization (ILO) but generally adheres to the ILO convention in
protection of worker's rights.

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E. Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports
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47. The first free trade/free port zone began operation at Keelung,
Taiwan's northern port, in November 2004. Another four have been
established in 2005. These four are located at Taoyuan
International Airport and the international harbors in Kaohsiung,
Taichung, and Taipei. Taiwan authorities have relaxed restrictions
on movement of merchandise, capital and personnel into and out of
such zones. Foreign investors are accorded national treatment.

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F. Foreign Direct Investment Statistics
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48. Statistics on foreign direct investment in Taiwan are available
from two sources. The Investment Commission (IC) publishes monthly
and yearly foreign investment approval statistics by industry and by
country. Taiwan's Central Bank of China (CBC) publishes foreign
direct investment arrivals on a quarterly and yearly basis. CBC
data, contained in balance-of-payments (BOP) statistics, are not
further classified by industry or country.

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49. In 2005, excess inventory worldwide (particularly electronic
products) caused Taiwan's export growth to decline to a single-digit
rate from over 20% in 2004. Taiwan's private investment declined in
2005 after over 30% growth in 2004. Consequently, Taiwan's real GDP
growth slowed from 6.1% in 2004 to 4.0% in 2005.


50. In 2006, strong recovery of Taiwan's export sector far offset
adverse effects of delinquent credit/cash card debt problems which
dampened private consumption in the first half of the year. Growth
in exports, which account for over 60% of Taiwan's GDP, accelerated
from 8.8% in 2005 to 12% in the first quarter and further to 19% in
the third quarter. Taiwan authorities estimate economic growth for
2006 will rise to 4.4%, and private investment will grow in the
second half of the year. In 2006, approved FDI in the first ten
months nearly tripled over the same period of 2005 to US$11.23
billion. Approved FDI so far this year was concentrated in
electronics, banking, science and technology services, and trade.
These four categories accounted for nearly 90% of total approved
FDI.


51. Approved direct investment in electronics industries (including
communications, semiconductor, TFT-LCD and other optical electronic
projects) increased from 6.4% of total approved FDI prior to 1995 to
19% in 1996-2000 and further to 24.5% in 2001-2005. Meanwhile, the
percentage share for financial services increased from 7.6% prior to
1995 to 22% in 1996-2000 and 25.6% in 2001-2005. Sixty percent of
the approved inbound direct investment in Taiwan's electronics
industries came from the United States, Europe and Japan.


52. The United States and Japan used to be the two main sources of
Taiwan's foreign investment, but have been replaced by the tax
havens in the British Territories in America (BTA),which harbor a
growing number of multinational corporations (many with roots in
Taiwan). Approvals for U.S. investment from 1952 to 2005 totaled
US$14 billion, or 22% of total foreign investment. Of total U.S.
investment, 33% was directed toward the electronics and electrical
industries, and 42% toward the service sector. Approvals for
Japanese investment amounted to US$13 billion, or 20% of total
foreign investment, of which 28% was in electronics and electrical
industries and 34% in the service sector. In 2006, new EU
investment exceeded that of the United States or Japan due to a
major holdings transfer by the Philips Company.


53. Approvals for investment from the BTA surged steadily from
US$76 million in 1994 to US$1.2 billion in 1999 when the BTA
surpassed the United States and Japan to become the largest source
of foreign investment in Taiwan. Investment from the BTA during
1999-2005 accounted for 27% of total approved investments, compared
to 18% from the United States, another 18% from Europe, and 15% from
Japan. One-quarter of the investment from the BTA was directed
towards financial services and another quarter to the electronic and
electrical industries.


54. As a relatively open and liberal economy, Taiwan receives
foreign investment while its businesses invest overseas, especially
in China, Southeast Asia and the Americas. According to
balance-of-payments statistics compiled by the CBC, outbound direct
investment has exceeded inbound direct investment every year since

1988. According to IC statistics, by 2005, cumulative approvals for
outbound investments totaled US$92 billion. One of the main
recipients of Taiwan investment has been China, which has received
over half of Taiwan's outbound investment. Approved investments in
China increased by 19% in 2003, and 51% in 2004, but declined 13% in

2005. In recent years, over 70% of Taiwan's new overseas investment
has gone to China.


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55. Taiwan business firms started to relocate their production
bases to China in the late 1980s. Production lines in China
gradually shifted from cheap labor-oriented industries in the late
1980s to products requiring lower-end technologies, such as PCs and
motherboards, in the early 2000s. The WTO accession of China and
Taiwan in 2002 prompted Taiwanese business firms to accelerate
relocation to China to sharpen their competitive edge in exports.
Taiwan factories based in China use the lower labor and land costs
to process Taiwan-made production inputs into finished goods for
exports to such industrial markets as the United States, Japan and
Europe and also for final sale in China.


56. Taiwan's annual registered direct investment across the Taiwan
Strait grew from US$1.25 billion in 1999 to US$6.94 billion in 2004
and US$6.0 billion in 2005. As a result of this trend China-based
Taiwan factories produced over 40% of export orders received by
Taiwan companies' headquarters by December 2005, up from 11.5% in
early 2000, and the 2005 ratio exceeded 70% for electronic firms.
Greater China (China plus Hong Kong) replaced the United States as
Taiwan's largest export market in 2001, and Greater China's share of
Taiwan's exports in the first 11 months of 2006 reached 40%, much
higher than the 15% for the United States and 11% for the European
Union.

Table 1
Foreign Investment Approvals by Year and by Area
(1952-2005) (unit: US$ million)

Central Hong
Year U.S.A. Japan America Europe Kong Other Total
-------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
52-89 3,067 2,983 341 1,312 1,198 2,049 10,950
1990 581 839 66 283 236 297 2,302
1991 612 535 60 165 129 277 1,778
1992 220 421 37 165 213 405 1,461
1993 235 278 38 214 169 279 1,213
1994 327 396 76 245 251 336 1,631
1995 1,304 573 151 338 147 412 2,925
1996 489 546 417 198 267 544 2,461
1997 491 854 659 401 237 1,625 4,267
1998 952 540 711 367 274 895 3,739
1999 1,145 514 1,216 462 161 733 4,231
2000 1,329 733 2,300 1,000 271 1,775 7,608
2001 940 685 1,397 1,182 145 780 5,129
2002 600 609 803 609 66 585 3,272
2003 687 726 919 635 44 565 3,575
2004 362 824 896 964 195 712 3,953
2005 804 459 1,094 947 104 820 4,228
52-04 14,146 12,514 11,181 9,687 4,106 13,089 64,723
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Source: Investment Commission

Table 2
Foreign Investment Approvals by Industry and Area
(1952-2005) (unit: US$ million)

Centr. Hong
Industry U.S.A. Japan Ameri. Eur. Kong Other Total
-------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
Total 14,146 12,514 11,181 9,687 4,106 13,089 64,723
Trade 1,320 1,326 1,231 1,216 390 1,226 6,709
Electronics 1,597 1,380 1,053 1,478 51 803 6,362
Electrical
Machinery 2,159 1,704 305 461 382 348 5,359
Banking 915 208 1,191 796 360 1,524 4,994
Professional
S&T Services 635 1,244 1,051 540 382 1,098 4,950

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Chemicals 1,529 921 314 1,108 287 402 4,561
Transportation
& Comm. 845 135 649 161 259 1,802 3,851
Inform & Tech 875 407 1,244 114 231 838 3,709
Food &
Financing
Investment 168 109 1,597 129 27 986 3,016
Insurance 1,116 266 3 1,137 232 140 2,894
Metal Prod. 388 779 203 128 118 897 2,513
Machinery 393 918 271 218 129 362 2,291
Others 2,206 3,117 2,069 2,201 1,258 2,663 13,514
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Source: Investment Commission

Table 3
Outbound Investment Approvals by Year and by Area
(1952-2005) (unit: US$ million)

Central
Year China America U.S.A. ASEAN Others Total
-------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
1952-89 n.a. 76 865 429 155 1,525
1990 n.a. 170 429 567 386 1,552
1991 174 268 298 720 370 1,830
1992 247 239 193 309 146 1,134
1993 1,140 194 529 434 504 2,801
(2,028) (2,028)
1994 962 569 144 398 506 2,579
1995 1,093 370 248 326 413 2,450
1996 1,229 809 271 587 498 3,394
1997 1,615 1,051 547 641 655 4,509
(2,720) (2,720)
1998 1,519 1,838 599 478 381 4,815
(515) (515)
1999 1,253 1,359 445 522 943 4,522
2000 2,607 2,248 862 389 1,578 7,684
2001 2,784 1,693 1,093 523 1,083 7,176
2002 3,859 1,575 578 211 1,006 7,229
(2,864) (2,864)
2003 4,595 1,997 467 298 1,206 8,563
(3,104) (3,104)
2004 6,941 1,155 557 966 704 10,323
2005 6,007 1,262 315 264 606 8,454
1952-05 47,256 16,874 8,439 8,063 11,140 91,772
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Source: Investment Commission
Note: Figures in parentheses refer to investments made prior to the
specified year but not previously registered.

Table 4
Outbound Investment Approvals by Industry and by Area
(1952-2005) (unit: US$ million)

Centr.
Industry China Amer. U.S.A. ASEAN Others Total
-------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
Total 47,256 16,874 8,439 8,063 11,139 91,772
Banking & Finance 29 9,229 713 635 3,097 13,703
Electronics 6,356 200 1,244 1,762 1,204 10,766
Inform & Tech 5,828 161 937 486 473 7,885
Trade 1,363 1,226 972 274 1,121 4,956
Electrical
Machinery 4,315 119 121 221 124 4,900
Chemicals 3,147 140 818 278 284 4,667
Textiles 2,194 25 488 1,478 377 4,562
Metal Products 3,852 77 76 212 222 4,439
Plastics 2,550 598 411 68 438 4,065

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Financing Invest. 30 3,064 106 39 546 3,785
Non-metallic
Mineral Products 2,324 97 202 213 241 3,077
S&T Services 746 801 853 74 274 2,748
Machinery 2,433 26 50 75 21 2,605
Transport Equip. 1,762 53 168 156 352 2,491
Food Processing 1,987 3 51 313 120 2,474
Precision Instr. 1,346 20 97 57 47 1,567
Others 6,994 1,035 1,132 1,722 2,199 13,082
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Source: Investment Commission

Table 5
Technical Cooperation Projects by Year and by Area
(1952-1995) (unit: number of projects)

Year Japan U.S.A. Europe Others Total
-------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
52-89 1,996 728 412 103 3,221
1990 106 54 30 10 200
1991 80 65 33 8 186
1992 193 50 19 10 175
1993 85 50 34 12 181
1994 70 39 24 6 139
1995 50 29 10 5 94
52-95 2,483 1,015 562 136 4,196
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Source: Investment Commission
Note: Taiwan ceased to compile statistics on technical cooperation
with foreign companies in 1996. Businesses have not been required to
report technical cooperation projects to the IC since the Statute
for Technical Cooperation was abolished.

Table 6
Technical Cooperation Projects by Industry and by Area
(1952-1995) (unit: number of projects)

Year Japan U.S.A. Europe Others Total
-------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
Total 2,483 1,015 562 136 4,196
Electronics &
Electrical 708 416 106 16 1,246
Chemicals 416 203 160 28 807
Machinery 368 68 97 9 542
Basic Metal &
Products 329 55 53 6 443
Other Services 111 106 27 42 286
Rubber Products 131 32 21 4 188
Non-metallic Minerals 97 22 24 2 145
Food and Beverage 80 38 13 9 140
Textiles 47 21 8 2 78
Construction 38 5 10 4 57
Garment & Footwear 18 14 4 3 39
Paper Products &
Printing 19 13 4 0 36
Transport Equipment 20 2 8 1 31
Others 101 20 27 10 149
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Source: Investment Commission

Table 7 Major U.S. Investors in Taiwan
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U.S. Investor/
Local Investment Major Products
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Amkor Technology Ltd./
Amkor Technology Taiwan (Lungtan) IC packing

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Ltd.
Amkor Technology Taiwan (Linkou)
Ltd.

AIG/
Yageo Corp. electronic components
Far East Air Transport Corp. airlines
Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. insurance

Pruco Insurance Group/
Masterlink Securities Co. securities

Corning Inc./ substrate glass for
Corning Glass Taiwan Co., Ltd. TFT/LCD

GTE-Verizon
Taiwan Fixed Network Telecom fixed-line and mobile
Taiwan Cellular Corp. phone service

Carlyle Group/
Eastern Technology cable TV

Ensite Limited (Ford Motor)/
Ford Lio Ho Motor Co. autos

Texas Instruments Inc.
Texas Instruments Taiwan Ltd. semiconductor

AMOCO Chemical Corp./
China American Petrochemical Co. petrochemicals

E.I. Dupont De Nemours/ industrial, electronic,
Dupont Taiwan Ltd. agricultural goods

IBM Corp./ computers:
IBM Taiwan Ltd. sales and service

AETNA Life Insurance Co./
Taiwan Branch insurance

View Sonic Co./ mobile phone service
Taiwan PCS Network Inc.

Warner Village Cinema Co./
Warner Village Cinema (Taiwan) Co. movie theaters

United Parcel Service International
Inc. (UPS)/ world wide express
UPS, Taiwan Branch services

Intel Inc./InteX. Co. ADSL chipset

Applied Materials Ltd./ semiconductor mfg.
Applied Materials Taiwan Ltd. equipment

General Motors Co./ auto assembly &
Yulon GM Motor Co. sales

GE Consumer Finance/ banking
Cosmos Bank

Jabil Circuit Inc./ telecom components
Taiwan Green Point Enterprise Co.
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Table 8 Major Japanese Investments in Taiwan
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Japanese Investors/Investment Major Products
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Toppan Printing Co./
Toppan Electronics (Taiwan) Co. color filter
Toppan CFI (Taiwan ) Co. sales and production

Nippon Sheet Glass Co./
Taiwan Auto Glass Industry Co. auto glass
Nippon Sheet Glass (Taiwan) Ltd. substrate glass



Asahi Glass Co. (AGC)/
Asahi Glass (Taiwan) Co. substrate glass

NTT DoCoMo/
KG Telecommunication Co phone service

Taiwan Shinkansen Corp./
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. high speed rail

Nissan Motor/Yulon Motor autos

Toyota Motor/Kuozui Motor autos

Matsushita Electronic Co./ electrical
Matsushita Electronic (Taiwan) Co., Ltd. appliances

Hitachi Co./ electrical
Taiwan Hitachi Co., Ltd. appliances and
Kaohsiung Hitachi electronics Co., Ltd. components

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd./
Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co., Ltd. motorcycles

Sankyo Co./Sankyo Co. Taipei pharmaceuticals

Idemitsu Co./Shinkong Idemitsu Corp. petrochemicals

Mitsui Co./Mitsui (Taiwan) trading

Takashimaya Co./Ta-ya Takashimaya department store
Dept. store

Sumitomo Co./Sumitomo (Taiwan) trading

Toshiba Co./Toshiba Compressor (Taiwan) compressor

Sadagawa Steel Co./Sheng Yu Steel Co. steel

Shin-Etsu Handotai Co./Shi-Etsu Handotai
Taiwan Co. semiconductor

Komatsu Co./
Formosa Komatsu Silicon Co. silicon wafer

Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co./
Taiwan Copper Foil Co. copper foil

Kirin Brewery Co./
Taiwan Kirin Co. beer sales

Nomura Securities/ banking
Taishin Financial Holdings

Shinsei Bank/ banking
Jih Sun Financial Holdings

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Table 9 Major European Investments in Taiwan
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European Investors/Investment Major Products
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Saberasu Investments Co./ assets
Cerberus Asset Management Co. management

Goldman Sachs/ securities
Goldman Sachs, Taipei Branch underwriting


Deutsche Telecom/ fixed-line
Eastern Broadband Telecom service

Volkswagen Ag/Ching Chung Motor Co. autos

Dresdner Bank Ag/Grand Cathay Securities securities

Imperial Chemical Inc./ICI Taiwan Ltd. chemicals

N.V. Philips/Philips Electronics (Taiwan) electronics

Alcatel Co./Alcatel Taisel Co. switch boards

Internallianz Bank, Zurich/Kwang Hwa securities
Securities

Horwood Investment/Chi Mei Industry Co. petrochemicals

H.S. Development & Finance/ChinaTrust banking
Commercial Bank

Infineon Technologies Inc./
Inotera Co. DRAM
Siemens Telecommunications Systems Ltd. switch systems &
phone equipment
Isenbourg-sgp, Lda/
RT-Mart International Ltd. shopping malls

Standard Chartered Bank/ banking
Hsinchu International Bank
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