President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of August 23 was accompanied by Premier Wu Den-yih, Vice Premier Sean C. Chen, and Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Y. Liu to attend the “Invest in Taiwan” conference. The president urged domestic and foreign enterprises as well as institutional investors to increase their investments here, adding that Taiwan can be used to link up the two sides of the Taiwan Strait with the global marketplace. By working together, he said, we can create a "golden decade" of enormous business opportunity.
President Ma said that over two years ago during his campaign for the presidency, he unveiled the economic strategy of "building up Taiwan, linking up with the Asia-Pacific region, and creating a global presence." He added that this effort is aimed at turning Taiwan into a global center for innovation, an Asia-Pacific economic and trade hub, a global operations headquarters for Taiwan companies, and a regional operations center for foreign firms. The president said that in order to "build up Taiwan," the government, under the precondition of protecting the environment, will develop a convenient transportation network that spans Taiwan. Other projects in this initiative will be the redevelopment of Kaohsiung Harbor, a new industrial cluster of high-tech companies in central Taiwan, the creation of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis, and renewal projects for both urban areas and industrial zones. These are among the projects set forth in the i-Taiwan 12 Projects program. In addition, other measures include tax incentives, promotion of industrial innovation, development of emerging industries, and the relaxation of various laws and regulations in an effort to foster industrial restructuring, he said.
President Ma stated that the government has initiated a major push in research and development in an effort to increase Taiwan's international competitiveness. Over the next two years, he said, the government hopes that R&D spending will rise to 3% of GDP, and that annual growth in R&D expenditures will reach a target of 8-10%. In addition to promoting Taiwan's six major emerging industries—green energy, biotechnology, tourism, high-end agriculture, health care, and cultural & creative industries—the president said that the government is also promoting emerging knowledge-based industries that are worthy of investment, such as cloud computing, smart electric vehicles, smart green buildings, and the commercialization of patents.
The president remarked that the government intends to continue to move in the direction of deregulation and liberalization. He said that agencies under the Executive Yuan have already completed a critical review of 540 laws and regulations, and once restrictions have been removed and capital can move more freely, many Taiwan-invested enterprises in mainland China will be motivated to apply to list their stock in Taiwan. Meanwhile, in an effort to achieve the goals of "linking up with the Asia-Pacific region" and "creating a global presence," President Ma stressed that Taiwan is interested in actively participating in global economic integration. The signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with mainland China on June 29, he said, was the first step in this effort. He noted that in the wake of the signing of the ECFA, Taiwan and Singapore on August 5 jointly announced that the two would be exploring the possibility of negotiating and signing an economic cooperation agreement, and that talks in this regard are expected to be held later this year. In the future, the president said, Taiwan will also be willing to discuss the establishment of closer ties with other nations which are economically complementary with Taiwan, so as to bring Taiwan more closely in step with the international community.
President Ma stated that mainland China has been Taiwan's largest trading partner since 2003. Mainland China accounts for the biggest chunk of Taiwan's trade surplus, and is the top destination for direct investments from Taiwan. Consequently, Taiwan can expect to benefit greatly from the signing of the ECFA with mainland China. Tariffs on 539 products from Taiwan and 267 items from mainland China will be gradually abolished over a two-year period after the ECFA takes effect on January 1 of next year, he said, adding that he is confident that this development will stimulate foreign investment in Taiwan. President Ma stressed that Taiwan enjoys an extremely advantageous geographic location, with the economies of the United States, mainland China, and Japan all on its periphery. If Taiwan makes the best use of this edge, improves the domestic investment environment, and stabilizes the cross-strait relationship, it will undoubtedly become an Asia-Pacific regional economic and trading hub, a global headquarters for Taiwan companies, and a regional operations center for foreign firms, the president said.
President Ma stressed that the pace of Taiwan's economic recovery this year has surpassed expectations. Economic growth in the second quarter hit 12.53%, he said. According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), Taiwan's economic growth rate this year will reach 8.24%, which is an upward revision of 2.1 percentage points from an original prediction of 6.14%. However, he noted that the ultimate purpose of economic development is to provide for the livelihoods and wellbeing of Taiwan's citizens. The DGBAS has announced statistics of 2009 showing that the income gap between the richest 20% of families in Taiwan and the poorest 20% has risen to a factor of 6.34, which is the second highest on record here. However, he said that with the strong economic growth witnessed in the first half of this year and the continued strong momentum in domestic consumption, he is confident that the unemployment rate will head lower and that incomes will rise in the future.