Policies for foreign and outward investment 1959-1990

Abstract

Government policies in Chinese Taipei have been very favourable to foreign direct investment (FDI) in general. The reason is very clear. As a developing country, Chinese Taipei is eager to obtain foreign capital as well as management and technology through FDI. Proof of this can be seen in the promulgation of the Statute for Investment by Foreign Nationals in as early as July 1954. Due to the termination of US aid in 1965, the importance of encouraging FDI became more evident. In fact, the amount of direct investment by foreign nationals was very limited before 1965 (Table 1). It was only US$1.4 million per year in 1953-59. However, the amount of approved investment increased rapidly from US$27.6 million in 1960-69 to US$122.3 million in 1970-79. Investment of foreign nationals grew even more rapidly in the 1980s. It amounted to as high as US$1,652 million in 1987-90.