Mainland's investment in Taiwan tops $700 million

BEIJING -- Investment in Taiwan from the Chinese mainland has reached $722 million since the island opened to mainland investors on June 30, 2009.

As of Monday, mainland authorities have approved 133 cases of mainland-invested enterprises and projects to Taiwan, according to Yang Yi, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, at a regular press conference on Wednesday.

Yang was quoting statistics from the Ministry of Commerce.

In the first nine months of 2012, the mainland approved 1,587 investment projects involving $2.16 billion, from Taiwan to the mainland, Yang said.

During that period, trade volume between the mainland and Taiwan reached $121.21 billion, registering a 0.2 percent increase year-on-year, according to the spokesman.

The value of imports from Taiwan was $95.46 billion and the exports to the island was $25.75 billion, Yang said.

The spokesman also clarified a recent rumor, which claimed that food and beverage manufacturer Master Kong was a Japanese enterprise. He said it was a Taiwan-based brand.

However, the spokesman stressed that the Hong Kong-listed company has equity investments from various parties.

Earlier rumors claiming that Master Kong was a Japanese brand spread amid the row between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands.