Taiwan Removes Foreign Ownership Restrictions

In a departure from the protectionist policies of the past, Taiwan has opened its securities to the global marketplace Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission has removed all restrictions on foreign ownership of Taiwan securities. The move, which took effect on October 14, is a significant departure from the protectionist policies that have eschewed foreign M&A buyers since the original enactment was brought into force in March 1996. The FSC says it wants to encourage overseas companies to list in Taiwan, and most importantly, to attract foreign individuals and mainland Chinese to invest in its securities market. The FSC has yet to clarify how the lifting of ownership restrictions specifically affects funds under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) programme. Despite the general difficulty of securing... [read full story]