Taiwan opens up 100 sectors to Chinese investments

TAIPEI, June 30 (Reuters) - Taiwan opened 100 sectors to Chinese investors from Tuesday, but it 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.

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]

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 if the latter declares independence, by force if necessary.

(Reporting by Kelvin Soh; Editing by Ken Wills)