Foreign Investment: The growth of Taiwan’s export trade in the 1990s led to an average growth of 10 percent a year in private-sector investment. But private-sector investment is susceptible to fluctuations in export growth, and when the latter stalled during the 2001 recession, so did capital investment. Taiwan is a net investor overseas. In the 1996–2002 period, Taiwan’s overseas investments totaled US$34.4 billion, while foreign direct investment in Taiwan—mostly from Japan and the United States—totaled US$17.8 billion. Most of Taiwan’s overseas investments are in the United States (US$4.9 billion, or 18.4 percent of total investments in 1992–2002), followed by those in Southeast Asian nations (US$4.8 billion, or 16.1 percent of total investments during the same period). The Ministry of Economic Affairs is responsible for overseeing government-approved investment in mainland China. Between 1991, when restrictions were lifted, and 2003, the ministry approved more than US$33.6 billion in investments in China, making investment from Taiwan the fifth largest in China. However, others have estimated the actual figure as closer to US$100 billion. Up to 2000, the Kuomintang (KMT) government encouraged a slow and cautious pace in mainland investment, a move that was unpopular with the business community. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which officially did not seek to open direct links with the People’s Republic of China, initiated a more open policy, but many investors saw no difference from the KMT policy.
Currency and Exchange Rate: Taiwan’s currency is the New Taiwan Dollar (NT$), which was instituted in 1949. The exchange rate in March 2005 was US$1 = NT$30.82. The New Taiwan Dollar is made up of 100 cents. Coins are issued in denominations of NT$0.50, NT$1, NT$10, and NT$50, and banknotes are issued in denominations of NT$100, NT$500, NT$1,000, and NT$2,000.
Fiscal Year: Calendar year, starting in 2001.