Listed Taiwanese Firms Earn NT$16.8 B. From Mainland in First-Half 2003

In the first half of this year publicly listed firms in Taiwan earned NT$16.8 billion (US$490 million at US$1:NT$34.5) from investments in mainland China. The electronics industry accounted for NT$9.25 billion (US$270 million), topping the list, followed by the auto industry with NT$2.7 billion (US$79 million) and the rubber industry with NT$1.28 billion (US$37 million).

Of the 660 firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE), 419 or 63.4% have investments in mainland China, according to the exchange's website. Taiwanese investors in the mainland come from almost every industry, with the notable exceptions of tourism, finance, and insurance. The electronics industry, which dominates the local bourse, has been the most aggressive investor in the mainland. Today more than 80% of the listed electronics firms have expanded their operations to the other side of the Taiwan Strait, compared to an average of 50% of firms in other industries.

According to the online reports of TSE-listed firms, 191 listed firms earned profits from their operations in the mainland in the first six months of this year, while 183 registered losses. Firms in traditional industries were among the biggest losers, although the sector was the first to migrate across the Taiwan Strait. During the same period, the profits earned by textile investors totaled less than NT$50 million (US$1.45 million) and most food investors registered losses except Uni-President and Wei Chuan, two veteran food giants on the island.

Industry experts state that Taiwan's traditional industries in the mainland have encountered rising competition from local counterparts there and they predict that the situation will worsen in the future unless more effort is devoted to R&D.

Profits Earned in Mainland China by Listed Firms in Taiwan (Jan.-June, 2003)
Industries	No. of listed firms	No. of Investors in mainland	No. of investors with profits	No. of investors with losses	No. of investors with unclear performance	Total profits/losses (Unit: NT$ million)
Cement	8	6	3	2	1	342
Food	24	16	3	12	1	471
Plastics	21	18	8	9	1	109
Textile	54	25	12	8	5	47
Electric Machinery	35	27	15	10	2	517
Electrical equipment & cables	15	8	3	4	1	202
Chemicals	31	19	8	8	3	114
Glass & pottery	7	5	2	3	0	70
Pulp & paper making	7	4	1	1	2	180
Steel	24	12	7	1	4	254
Rubber	9	9	6	2	1	1,284
Auto & auto Parts	4	4	3	1	0	2,712
Electronics	273	214	91	108	15	9,252
Construction	32	8	2	2	4	5
Transportation	17	11	3	4	4	-12
Tourism	6	0	0	0	0	0
Finance & insurance	44	0	0	0	0	0
Trade & department stores	11	7	5	2	0	96
Miscellaneous goods	1	1	1	0	0	3
Other	37	25	18	6	1	1,181
Total	660	419	191	183	45	16,827