According to Fan Liang-tung, executive secretary of the Investment Commission under the ministry, the first phase of liberalization will target investment categories with urgent need, as well as those that have little impact on Taiwan's economy.

As part of its efforts to identify these categories, the MOEA is holding a series of seminars with academics and industrial representatives to gather their opinions, Fan said during a meeting with a group of China-based Taiwanese businessmen.

Data from the commission shows that among the large number of Chinese investment categories that remain on a government list of items in which investment is banned, 101 are related to the manufacturing sector, including IC manufacturing, mid-level and high-level IC packaging and testing, and the array and cell processes of thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels larger than four inches.

In addition, 13 infrastructure projects -- roads, hydraulic facilities, railway systems, harbors, tap water systems, sewage systems, airports, subway systems, garbage incinerators, power plants, power transmission networks, electricity distribution and industrial parks -- are forbidden areas for investment.

Four service categories -- postal services, telecom services, financial services and IC design -- are also off-limits for Taiwanese investors, along with 436 categories in the agriculture sector.

(By Y.F. Low)