Taipei, Aug. 16, 2011 (CENS)--Stimulated by the effect of the cross-Taiwan Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and mainland China’s 12th five-year development plan, the total investments of Taiwan’s metal industry topped NT$82.4 billion in the first seven months this year and are expected to top NT$120 billion for the entire year, a three-year high, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

The two largest investors are China Steel and Catcher Technology, both with over NT$10 billion of investment projects. China Steel will invest NT$14 billion in setting up an electromagnetic steel sheet production line in Kaohsiung, with annual capacity of 775,000 metric tons, mainly for use in the production of green-energy products, such as electric cars and wind turbines. Catcher Technology will invest NT$10.25 billion to produce magnesium alloy housings, mainly for smart phones, in Tainan. Meanwhile, C.S. Aluminum plans to invest NT$9.5 billion to produce high-end aluminum materials and double its capacity to 226,000 metric tons, a major portion of which will be for export to mainland China.

An official of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, attributed the brisk investments by the metal industry partly to the effect of ECFA, whose early-harvest list covers five metal items, including stainless steel, aluminum alloy, and metal products, eligible for preferential tariff treatment.

Other factors include business opportunities connected with mainland China’s 12th five-year development plan and the demand for green energy products. In the first seven months this year, total investments of the local metal industry grew 8.4% year-on-year to NT$82.4 billion, involving 161 enterprises, and the figure for the entire year is expected to top NT$120 billion. The industry’s output value is expected to reach NT$2.56 trillion this year.

Total private investment already hit NT$719 billion in the first seven months, 65% of the whole-year target of NT$1.1 trillion.