President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of October 6 attended The 2008 Taiwan Business Alliance Conference that was organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. President Ma stressed Taiwan's high quality human resources, outstanding geographic position, strong culture and excellent investment environment. He said that now is the right time to invest in Taiwan, urging companies from throughout the world to come and invest here.
President Ma delivered a speech prior to presenting the Best Investment Partner Awards. He said that since taking office on May 20, the new administration here has set forth new directions in development for Taiwan. In addition to striving to boost Taiwan's domestic economy, the new government also desires to foster peace, he said. This is the reason why the new government is negotiating with Mainland China in liberalizing economic ties between the two sides, he added.
President Ma cited an example, saying that the government has allowed the direct exchange of New Taiwan dollars and the Chinese yuan. In addition, it has relaxed a number of rules and regulations, including lifting the previous 40% investment cap on Taiwan firms investing in Mainland China. The president said the objective of this move is not to encourage Taiwan companies to invest in Mainland China, but rather a desire to liberalize Taiwan's investment environment.
The president furthermore said that Taiwan ranks fifth in the latest Investment Environment Risk Assessment Report prepared by Switzerland's Business Environment Risk Intelligence. President Ma said that the Business Alliance Conference being held today will help foreign companies to better understand Taiwan's investment environment. The president said that Taiwan is home to highly qualified human resources, noting that over 40% of Taiwan's population are college graduates or higher degree holders. Taiwan is situated in an advantageous geographic spot in the center of East Asia. Whether it be shipping or aviation, Taiwan offers the shortest distance on average to other capitals or major cities in East Asia. Meanwhile, he said, Taiwan is centrally located between the major global economies of the United States, Japan, Mainland China, and ASEAN. In light of this, the president extended a welcome to companies from throughout the world to not only develop their operations in the local market, but to use Taiwan as a springboard to develop business in the region. President Ma also mentioned that the government has commenced the i-Taiwan 12 Projects. Calling for total infrastructure costs of US$120 billion, the president said the projects are expected to foster an intelligent, creative, information-based and internationally oriented Taiwan. One-third of the investment in these projects is slated to come from the private sector, he said. With such good business prospects, the president said he hopes that companies from countries throughout the world will invest in Taiwan's infrastructure development projects.
President Ma lastly said that many international institutions have listed Taiwan as an excellent place to invest. In response to concerns among many of the possible impacts on Taiwan of the financial crisis sweeping the United States, President Ma stressed that the government has already adopted short- and medium-term measures in order to reduce the impact of the events overseas and to strengthen Taiwan's economic structure. Taiwan, he said, has already exhibited its economic competitiveness. The wide-ranging measures taken by the government, the president said, will effectively help Taiwan to regain its economic vitality. The government is determined to embrace the challenges of the future and the public also has confidence, he said.