The Taiwan government yesterday ended a ban on semiconductor firms from transplanting 0.18-micron technology to the Chinese mainland in another move to boost economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Industry officials, however, said it won't influence the domestic industry as firms have already adopted more advanced technologies.

Lifting the ban came after a government review. Taiwan regulations prevent technologies not available in the Chinese mainland from being exported. An international agreement removed 0.18-micron manufacturing technology from a list of controlled technologies, therefore, the government lifted the restriction, Taiwan Economic News reported.

"The technology is popular in the Chinese mainland. Some firms, like Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp and Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, have adopted more advanced 0.13, 0.11 or 0.09 micron technologies," said Li Ke, an analyst at Beijing-based CCID Consulting Co, a research firm under the Ministry of Information Industry. The 0.18 microns refer to the distance between transistors on a wafer. A shorter distance between transistors represents better technology.