Taiwan to ease investment rules

TAIPEI: Taiwan plans to relax restrictions further to allow more investment across the Taiwan Straits, Yiin Chii-ming, its "economics minister", said yesterday.

The island will loosen curbs on cross-Straits investments "one step at a time" in the next six months, Yiin said.

Taiwan companies can now invest only up to 40 percent of their net assets on the mainland. First, this percentage will be raised, Yiin said, and a plan for that should be ready for government approval by the end of this month. Second, the island will lift some restrictions that prevent companies in certain high-end sectors from investing on the mainland. And third, it will allow mainland companies to invest in Taiwan, Yiin said.