News: Taiwan says 'go India', firms aren't rushing

(RTR 31/03/2006) Taipei - It may be the world's second most populous country and have an economy growing at 8 per cent a year, but there are plenty of reasons why Taiwan companies are wary about their government's exhortations to invest in India.

Cultural differences, restrictions on foreign investment, poor infrastructure and government inefficiency mean India has a long way to go before it can come close to rivalling China as the favourite place to invest for Taiwan firms.

But ties between Taiwan and China have been tense under the administration of pro-independence Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, who plans to tighten the rules on major investments in China and make firms jump through more hoops to get approval.

In some ways, India seems like a natural alternative.