Taipei, Aug. 21 (CNA) The amount of government-approved China-bound investment by Taiwanese companies in the first seven months of this year fell more than 12 percent from a year earlier because of a high base of comparison, the Investment Commission said Monday.

The commission approved a total of US$5.18 billion in investment in China by Taiwanese enterprises in the January-to-July period, down 12.21 percent year-on-year.

The commission said the decline was largely because Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (鴻海), the world's largest contract electronics maker, received approval in July 2016 to invest US$1.5 billion in its subsidiary in Zhengzhou, setting a target that could not be matched this year.

In terms of the number of investment applications approved, the figure rose 112.5 percent in the first seven months from a year earlier to 289, the commission said.

The commission said the metal/mineral sector was the most common sector applying to invest in China, accounting for 19.82 percent of total applications, ahead of the retail/wholesale sector (16.18 percent).

The electronics component sector accounted for 14.18 percent of all applications and companies in the computer/optoelectronics/other electronics product sector accounted for 11.63 percent of the total.

Meanwhile, the amount of government-approved overseas investment made by Taiwanese firms outside of China for the seven-month period fell 31.55 percent year-on-year to US$5.83 billion, the commission said.

The commission said the decline also reflected a relatively high base of comparison because Hon Hai received approval in May 2016 to invest US$3.5 billion to acquire a 66 percent stake in Japan's Sharp Corp.

In terms of the number of applications for approval to invest overseas during the seven-month period, the figure was down 6.27 percent from a year earlier to 269, the commission said.

Meanwhile, the amount of approved foreign direct investment in Taiwan for the seven-month period fell 27.39 percent from a year earlier to US$4.47 billion, as a big investment made by memory chip maker Micron Technology BV in 2016 boosted the base of comparison last year, the commission said.

In May 2016, Micron obtained approval to invest US$3.33 billion in Taiwan-based DRAM chip maker Inotera Memories Inc. (華亞科) to boost the company's stake in the Taiwanese company from 33 percent to 100 percent.

The commission said approved Chinese investment in Taiwan during the seven-month period totaled US$158 million, down 4.72 percent from a year earlier. 

(By Liao Yu-yang and Frances Huang) 
Enditem/ls