Taiwan’s FEPZ programme woos ME investors

By Kabeer Yousuf — TAIPEI — As many as 33 companies from different countries have shown interest in Taiwan’s new engine of economic growth called FEPZ’s (Free Economic Pilot Zones) and the programme is all set to augment its reach to Middle East countries including the Sultanate of Oman for feasible bilateral investment avenues.
This was informed by Kao, Shien-Quey, Deputy Minister of National Development Council (NDC), Taiwan.
“We have received tremendous response from the global market when we launched the FEPZ programme in August 2013 and 33 global companies have already signed agreement with us to invest and to enjoy the advantages of Taiwan’s changed policies till today”.
In macroeconomics, FEPZs are trial zones for a free economy, with liberalisation, internationalisation and forward vision as their defining concepts.

In FEPZs, all restrictions on the flow of goods, people, capital, information and knowledge are greatly loosened, and market opening is carried out.
“The industrial activities selected for development in the zones are those that have strong growth potential, can play a demonstrational role, and can create greater economic benefits. Progressing from partial to general liberalisation, Taiwan will eventually become a free trade island”, Shien-Quey told the Observer in her office.
Today Taiwan has 7.3 per cent growth rate while boasting of a $580bn foreign trade. Its GDP stands at $490bn which is the 19th in the world.
She added that Taiwan’s USP’s — the dynamic open economy, strategic location in the Asia-Pacific region, world-leading manufacturing and hi-tech industries, comprehensive supply chains and industrial clusters added with high-quality human resources can certainly be an advantage to the FDI thus being generated.
“We are offering great innovative capacity, sound infrastructure and abundant capital proximity to and linguistic affinities with mainland China, region-wide trade and economic links besides offering one of the most competitive tax systems in Asia, with an average tariff of just 4.23 per cent in order to boost foreign investment to this island nation”, she added.
Taiwan, with the new policy the business income tax payable has been reduced to 17 per cent on industrial goods. Its recent signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with mainland China in 2010 can also boost the FDI flow in various sectors including its crème de la crème ICT and flat television sets.
Although the primary targets for development in FEPZs are high-value-added high-end service industries, its services will be made available to a number of other areas, according to the minister.
These include manufacturing and service industries, smart logistics, international healthcare services, value-added agriculture, financial services, and education innovation.