UPDATE 1-Taiwan opens 100 sectors to China investments

* Sectors include infrastructure, services, manufacturing

* Excludes sensitive foundry and LCD sectors

(Adds detail in paragraphs 4, 8-9)

TAIPEI, June 30 (Reuters) - Taiwan opened 100 sectors to Chinese investors from Tuesday, but will continue to exclude the foundry and LCD sectors, in a widely expected move that has helped make the stock market one of the top global performers this year.

Investors from China will now be allowed to invest in areas deemed less sensitive by the island's government, including automobiles, plastics and PC manufacturing, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement posted on its website.

However, they will not be allowed to invest in the semiconductor foundry and LCD business, a move some analysts have attributed to fears about the loss of intellectual property.

"We will not open up all sectors. We will only open up sectors that are beneficial to our economy and not those that will jeopardise our national security," Vice Economics Minister John Deng told a news conference.

Taiwan is home to top players in those two sectors, with companies such as TSMC (2330.TW), UMC (2303.TW) and AU Optronics (2409.TW) holding leadership positions in those fields.

The telecoms sector was also not included in the list, stalling a move by China Mobile (0941.HK) to buy a 12 percent stake in Taiwan's third-largest telecom operator, Far EasTone (4904.TW).

The list of 100 sectors has been widely circulated since the two sides agreed to new regulations in mid-May. Those will allow the Chinese to invest broadly in the island amid thawing ties under the year-old administration of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou. [ID:nTP148757]

On Tuesday, Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission also said in a statement that it would loosen some limitations to allow Chinese investments into Taiwan's financial sector.

The financial regulator will allow Taiwan's banks to conduct foreign currency loans to Chinese companies that have branches on the island, as well as allow Chinese citizens to apply for mortgages.

The island's stock market has surged in recent months as a result of such hopes, and its main TAIEX share index is currently the world's second-best performing so far this year among 30 tracked by Reuters.

Taiwan and China have been administered separately since the Nationalists fled the mainland in 1949. China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, and has threatened to take it back by force if necessary, if the latter declares independence. (Reporting by Kelvin Sohand Rachel Lee; editing by Simon Jessop)