Foreign investment into recession hit Taiwan more than doubled in May when compared with the previous month, according to new figures from Taiwan's Investment Commission.

Rising demand for flat screens is aiding Taiwan's hi-tech sector

The sharp rise ended four months of falling investment from abroad and raised hopes of a recovery.

Investment into Taiwan rose to $351.2m (£238m) in May, bringing the total for the year so far to $1.28bn.

That is still 40% lower than the investment received during the same period last year,

But the rise in inward investment came soon after April data which suggested that "the economy is on its way to full-scale recovery", Taiwan Vice Prime Minister Lin Hsin-i said.

Investment into China

Taiwan has seen a fall in its own investment abroad to $13.37bn for the first five months of this year when investment into China is excluded, down 34% on last year.

But its Chinese investment rose 13% to $12.72bn during the five months.

Since Chinese rules were relaxed in 1987, Taiwan's investors have injected $70bn into the mainland.