Taiwan’s government is encouraging insurance companies to invest in infrastructure projects by removing roadblocks and expediting investment and construction processes.

Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) vice chairman Cheng Cheng-mount said that the insurance sector can invest up to 10% of its disposable funds, or NTD22 trillion (US$733.58 billion) in public infrastructure projects, according to a report by Taipei Times.

However, only around 1% has been invested, Cheng revealed.

In order to stimulate investment in infrastructure, the government is removing roadblocks which prevent insurers, which have the money but not the technical know-how, from financing public works projects.

“The Ministry of Finance is to standardise investment contracts, as insurance companies are unfamiliar with public infrastructure programs,” Cheng said. “Matching insurance companies with third-party businesses can also help insurance companies invest in public infrastructure projects.”

Aside from encouraging link-ups between insurers and construction firms, the Ministry is also taking steps to allow public infrastructure projects to be traded as securities, enabling the insurance sector to participate in such projects with a new financial tool.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior will streamline the review process of development projects by paring down the three-step process into a two-step one. In order to save time, it proposed that local governments would pre-screen projects and propose solutions before the official review process begins.

“We are confident that, following the improvement, the review of major development projects will no longer be stalled indefinitely,” said Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun


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