Taiwan firms encouraged to list shares on mainland

HUIZHOU, Guangdong - The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council will support Taiwan companies wishing to list on the mainland's stock exchanges, an official said.

The office will also promote Taiwan banks' launches of yuan-denominated business on the mainland, where many small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Taiwan need financing.

Zheng Lizhong, executive deputy director of the office, made the comments on Tuesday at a forum on cross-Straits cooperation in strategic new industries and economic transformation, which was held in Huizhou, Guangdong province.

Some Taiwan enterprises on the mainland are facing difficulties, including higher costs of raw materials, declining export markets, rising labor costs, a stronger yuan and capital shortages, with the mainland's economic environment affected by the global financial crisis, Zheng said.

He said that his office would work with related organizations to provide capital, technological and training support to Taiwan businesses on the mainland.

Under the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), the mainland will strengthen cooperation with Taiwan in strategic new industries and actively support the transformation of Taiwan businesses on the mainland.

The seven new industries targeted by the mainland and the six new industries Taiwan is developing have much in common and the two sides should work together to create a win-win situation, said Chiang Hsiao-yen, vice- chairman of the Kuomintang Party.

Guangdong province, which hosts more than 24,000 Taiwan businesses and 200,000 Taiwan people, will step up cooperation with Taiwan in new industries, including an industrial chain targeting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua.

To facilitate the transformation, Guangdong will help Taiwan businesses explore the mainland market and encourage qualified Taiwan firms to participate in government procurement programs.

The province will also allocate distribution and SME funds to qualified Taiwan businesses, Huang said.

Although the difficulties of Taiwan businesses are even greater than in 2008, the number of these companies going bankrupt in Dongguan, Guangdong so far this year has been within the normal range, said Charles Shieh, who heads the association of Taiwan enterprises in Dongguan.

The association has been working with the local government in helping its members transform, including in human resources training, guarantees for bank borrowing and sales to the mainland market.

Meanwhile, bases for cooperation between Guangdong and Taiwan in the technology, petrochemical and photoelectric industries, and a service center for Taiwan businesses, were launched in Huizhou on Tuesday.

The petrochemical base is in the petrochemical park at Daya Bay, which now includes a refinery of China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and a petrochemical project of CNOOC and Shell Petrochemical Co Ltd, said Zhang Ying, executive vice-mayor of the city.

Taiwan businesses are interested in joining the second phase of CNOOC's project in Huizhou, which will start this year, according to Chen Wu-shyon, chairman of the Taiwan-based Chinese National Federation of Industries.

CNOOC welcomes Taiwan participation in a wide range of its businesses, said Li Hui, deputy general manager of CNOOC.

The photoelectric base is intended to combine the research and development capability of Taiwan, and the industrial and market advantages of Huizhou, Zhang said.