Is Taiwan the Place to Be?

Filed in archive Private Equity on April 3, 2008

I saw a short but interesting piece in Today's Financial News (TFN) recently that proclaimed that Taiwan (not Mainland China) was the place to invest your money. The author had reasons...

First, Taiwan is richer. On a per capita basis, Taiwans GDP is almost US$30,000 a year, compared to a little more than $5,000 a year on the Mainland. Second, Taiwan is more stable than the Mainland. And Third, inflation is lower in Taiwan than it is on the Mainland.







The article's author, Martin Hutchinson, seemed to be motivated by recent elections in Taiwan:

The win by Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang party sent the Taiex Index up 4% in one day.

The win reduces the risk to Taiwan investments of invasion by the million-strong Chinese Red Army, and it's always good in these troubled times to see a risk being reduced!

Taiwan is an active democracy, making it a more stable pick for investors. The Kuomintang party is taking over after eight years of rule by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Hutchinson's conclusion: The Taiwan is the China investors should be focusing on.

What Hutchinson forgot to mention is that with just 23 million people, the Taiwanese consumer market is a mere pimple on the rump of the Mainland consumer market. Mainland China has over 50 times as many consumers as Taiwan...