Taiwan is fast-tracking two stalled initiatives to boost economic ties with China, as the ruling party seeks to revive its chances of winning presidential elections in March, local media reported on Monday.
One measure would make it easier for mainland Chinese to buy property in Taiwan, and the other would relax a rule that limits Taiwan's listed firms to having no more than 40 percent of their assets in China. Taiwan's construction index jumped 4.23 percent in Monday trade on hopes that the local property market would get a boost. The benchmark TAIEX index fell 0.91 percent.
The two moves have been discussed for years but are getting a new lease on life in the run-up to presidential elections after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was defeated in legislative elections this month by a Nationalist Party promising closer ties with China.
The Chinese-language Commercial Times said a plan to relax rules on property investment in Taiwan by mainland Chinese could be announced before the lunar new year, which falls on February 7.
The plan would let local Taiwan banks finance real estate purchases by Chinese buyers, and simplify background inspection checks, the newspaper said. Corinna Wei, a spokeswoman from the Mainland Affairs Council, which governs cross-strait matters, said some legislators had asked for the move at the end of 2007 and it was now being researched.
In a separate report, the Chinese-language Economic Daily said the Cabinet was looking into a plan to relax a rule that currently restricts locally listed companies from investing more than 40 percent of their net assets in China. Plans being explored would include adding more flexibility if companies concurrently increase their Taiwan investment, according to the report, citing unnamed sources.