TAIWAN could propose allowing mainland firms to take 20 percent stakes in LCD companies in an investment pact, up from an original 10 percent, a Taiwan official with direct knowledge of the matter told reporters yesterday.
Taiwan officials said last month the key LCD panel industry would be included in a second round of sectors to be opened to mainland investment, as economic ties between the two sides continue to deepen.
We will have to discuss further on the upper limit allowed for investment; the original proposal was 10 percent but some people thought it was too little, said the official.
Another Taiwan official said the second list of sectors had been submitted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs last week for final approval, and the LCD panel industry was included.
LCD panels had been excluded in the first list of 100 sectors opened to investment in 2009 due to fears about the loss of intellectual property.
Taiwan has been pushing for stronger ties with the mainland under the administration of Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou since 2008, seeking to bolster the island s economic strength.
Taiwan s LCD makers are allowed to build factories on the mainland only if their plants at home use more advanced processing technology that boosts efficiency and output. Current Taiwanese LCD plants on the mainland only do final assembly work rather than panel production.
AU Optronics Corp., the world s No.4 LCD maker, got Taiwan authority s approval late last year for a 7.5-generation production operation on the mainland, which could start up in 2012. (SD-Agencies)
