Taiwanese economic affairs minister Yiin Chii-ming has urged multinational enterprises to invest in the island.

"Taiwan is the supply chain centre of the high-tech industry. A lot of IC and IT products and their components are manufactured here," said Yiin.  According to Yiin, the combination of industry clusters and local talent could help international businesses increase their competitive edge. 

It should be noted that Taipei recently implemented a number of steps to ease trade restrictions with Beijing. Indeed, the government has raised the limit on local enterprises' investment in China to 60% of their net worth. In addition, companies headquartered in Tawian are not subject to any investment cap. Clearly, Taipei is hoping that the new economic incentives will help position the island as a lucrative springboard to China.

However, the chairman of Taiwan External Trade Development Council, Wang Chi-kang, told Radio Taiwan that trade with China actually decreased in August. 

Wang explained that his new focus will be on neglected markets, including the Middle East, South America, Central and Eastern Europe, and Russia. "We hope to increase trade in these markets by 10% this year and more in the future," he said. X