| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
HONG KONG : A likely win by the opposition party in Saturday's Taiwan presidential election is raising hopes of closer economic ties with the mainland.
However, while businesses will be rooting for Kuomintang party candidate Ma Ying-jeou to win, he will also be constrained by voters wanting a more gradual approach.
Taiwanese business leaders eyeing the fast-growing China market have been patiently waiting for the 'Big Bang' to happen.
Over the last 20 years, Taiwan firms have already pumped in an estimated US$150 billion into the mainland economy.
However, restrictions on trade and investments, air and shipping links, have all hampered growth.
And after eight years of independence-minded Democratic Progressive Party-rule under President Chen Shui-bian, some think it is time for a change.
Susie Chiang, Chairman, Taiwan Business Association, HK, said, "Taiwan really dropped into ideology. So the whole society pushed up ideology, they didn't care too much about economic development. That really hurt the Taiwan economy. We were the head of the four dragons and now we're the tail. That's really something that led us to worry about the future of Taiwan."
The Taiwan economy has been managing 4 to 5 percent growth this past few years, but its stock market has underperformed the region four out of the past five years.
Mr Ma is promising, among other things, to establish direct air links with China within a year, and set up new rules to allow Taiwanese companies to invest more in China - the current limit is 40 percent.
Hopes are high that Beijing will lift the ban to allow its investors to invest directly in the Taiwanese stock market.
Ms Chiang said, "The travel business, services business, tourism will be booming. Besides that, we're looking at financial contact with each other, more banks, more financial companies will move over to help the Taiwanese businessmen over there."
But behind all the election rhetoric these past weeks, suspicions of Beijing still run deep in Taiwan, and voters are likely to want their cake and eat it too.
Nicholas Kwan, Economist, Standard Chartered Bank, said, "With all the promises, you can tell that changes are not going to happen overnight. It'll be in steps. In fact, all those changes either driven by the KMT or even if the DPP were to stay in power, in the presidency, some of those measures have to happen anyway."
With increasing competition in the region, Taiwan cannot afford to isolate itself from the economic clout of the mainland.
Already, more than 1 million of Taiwan's 23 million citizens do business in China.
Despite political differences, China remains Taiwan's top destination for investments and is the island's top trading partner.
Businesses can only imagine what a shot in the arm a more open investment policy will mean for the island. - CNA/ms
|
