Taipei, July 3 (CNA) Taiwan is planning to set up a national investment company by the end of August to speed up the pace of technology innovation in the country, National Development Council (NDC) deputy chief Kung Ming-hsin said Monday.
In its initial phase, the national investment firm, called Taishan Investment and Management Co. Ltd., will have paid-in capital of NT$250 million (US$8.22 million), Kung said.
Over the longer term, the investment entity is hoping to raise NT$10 billion in funds for future investments.
Kung said the Internet of Things will likely be the first sector targeted by the company, and then it will look to a wide range of other high-tech opportunities, including in the semiconductor, green energy, smart machinery, and national defense sectors.
The company's preparatory committee held its first board meeting Monday, attended by five board directors, to confirm the new company's management.
One of the five, former vice premier Wu Rong-I, was confirmed as the chairman of the investment firm, while Asia Silicon Valley Development Agency (ASVDA) chief investment officer Wong Chia-sheng will become its president, Kung said.
ASVDA was established by the Cabinet late last year with the mission of turning Taiwan into a Silicon Valley in Asia.
The other four directors at Monday's meeting were Kung, Science and Technology Minister Chen Liang-gee, Yang Yu-ming, a biotechnology expert who used to work for pharmaceutical firm Roche, and acquisition & merger lawyer Huang Jih-tsan.
The National Development Fund under the Cabinet will serve as the largest shareholder of the new company and will offer advice on the investment firm's future development and supervise the new company's operations, Kung said.
But he did not disclose the size of the fund's stake, saying only that the government will hold no more than a 50 percent stake in the new company and will invite the private sector to invest in the initiative.
Local media has reported that the company is hoping Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip maker, can come on board as one of its private shareholders.
