Taiwan needs to address ongoing political tensions

Sars is anticipated to be a short-term problem for Taiwan but political tensions and issues in its technology sector are creating concerns regarding its future economic development. Mark Mobius, portfolio manager of the Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets fund, believes the most critical factor for Taiwan is the direction of the US economy. Taiwan is very open and, to a great extent, depends on the demands of the US, he says. Senior emerging markets analyst for First State Investments, David Gait, says during times of a weak US economy, companies cut costs by outsourcing to Asia, whi...