ECFA Promotes Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation

March 17, 2010 - PRLog -- Taipei, 17 March 2010 – Dr. Chi Schive, Chairman of TWSE, presented a keynote speech today at the "Taiwan, Technology and Beyond" Conference jointly hosted by the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (“TWSE”) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, on cross-strait economic cooperation, the opportunities brought forth by the signing of the ECFA, and TWSE’s goal to become ‘Taisdaq’ (Asia's Nasdaq).

In his keynote address, Dr. Schive touched on cross-strait cooperation by referring to the growth of foreign direct investment in Taiwan, stating that Taiwan’s IT industry has an ample appetite for investment from Mainland China. In addition, the new wave of foreign funds from Chinese QDII investors should not be underestimated, especially the considerable potential of QDIIs in the Chinese banking industry, as well as their product scales. Dr. Schive also mentioned that Taiwan regulators will consider a gradual opening up of industries for QDII investment.

“The signing of the ECFA with China will open more doors for Taiwan institutions to directly access mainland markets, stimulating more business activity for companies between Taiwan and Mainland China. Joint R&D projects, academic cooperation and cross-strait cultural exchange will also be further encouraged,” commented Dr. Schive. Through the integration of Taiwan’s soft strengths in democracy, innovative IT capabilities, human resources and culture, with China’s rapid economic growth, huge domestic demand as well as abundant human and financial resources, a new business model is expected to develop in the Taiwan market.

Additionally, there are already 51 IPOs in TWSE’s pipeline, of which 7 are foreign companies. “It is most encouraging that TWSE approved the listing of its first foreign company yesterday,” said Dr. Schive. As of 8 March 2010, 12 foreign companies have listed on the TWSE through TDRs issue since 2009. Looking forward, 20 more companies are expected to issue TDRs in Taiwan by the end of 2010. Companies from Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong have also expressed keen interest in listing in Taiwan.

Dr. Schive considers the development of ‘Taisdaq’ to be no longer a goal but an inevitable outcome. Given Taiwan’s strength in clustering hi-tech listings, as well as the rapid growth of market capitalization and number of listed companies, Taiwan’s positioning as ‘Taisdaq’ will receive a high degree of global recognition.

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