Chinese bribery is great news for Taiwan

After sixty years, Mainland China and Taiwan have signed an economic co-operation agreement. The pact is crucial to Taiwan's future, no matter what China's ulterior motives may be. Cris Sholto Heaton looks at what the deal means, and examines the best ways to invest in Taiwan.

Sixty years is a long time to wait for a free-trade deal. But with China and Taiwan nothing is ever straightforward. Last week, the two sides finally signed a long-awaited 'economic co-operation framework agreement (ECFA)'.

Despite having a name designed to make your eyes glaze over, this is quite a big deal. It's the latest and largest step in a story I've been flagging up for some time the transformation of Taiwan's economy.

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EasyETF TSEC Taiwan 500.60%FR, FR$
ComStage MSCI Taiwan0.60%CH, DE, SW
DB x-trackers MSCI Taiwan0.65%CH, DE, FR, GB, GB$, HK, IT, SE, SG, SW
Fubon FTSE Taiwan Technology0.44%TT
Fubon MSCI Taiwan0.34%TT
Fubon Taiwan Eight Industries0.44%TT
Fubon Taiwan Finance0.44%TT
Index IQ Taiwan Small Cap0.69%US
iShares MSCI Taiwan0.74%AU, CH, DE, FR, GB, GB$, IT, NL, US
Lyxor MSCI Taiwan0.65%CH, FR, HK, IT, SG
P-Shares Taiwan Mid-Cap 1000.48%TT
P-Shares Taiwan Electronics Tech0.46%TT
P-Shares S&P Taiwan Custom China Play 500.49%TT
P-Shares MSCI Taiwan Financials0.50%TT
P-Shares Taiwan Dividend Plus0.48%TT
P-Shares TSEC Taiwan Non-Tech 500.50%TT
P-Shares Taiwan Top 500.38%HK, TT
Taiwan Fund1.63%US:TWN
Taiwan Greater China Fund2.80%US:TFC
Fidelity Funds Taiwan2.06%$2,500
JP Morgan JF Taiwan2.90%$5,000
Schroder ISF Taiwanese Equity2.51%$1,000
UBS EF Taiwanese Equity1.84%€ 500
HSBC GIF Taiwan Equity1.83%$1,000
LionGlobal Taiwan1.65%S$,5000
Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.