The bank announced it was investing $8 million in the K-1 launcher development program, and provide an additional funding stream when Kistler reached the $142 million mark in total financing.

The Taiwan finance ministry also announced Friday it had approved a joint $50 million investment package by seven area banks, marking the largest foreign investment into the company thus far.

Once the reusable technology is mature, according to a report by the Yangcheng Evening News and Reuters, the technology would be transferred to a joint venture company in Taiwan. The development was also published by the Dragon in Space news service in Hong Kong.

Kistler Aerospace has been struggling to raise the capital it says is necessary to complete the first K-1 flight test vehicle.

First suborbital launch of the two stage craft has been delayed more than a year because of the firm's financial problems, made worse by the Asian economic crisis.

Asian investors were expected to provide Kistler with a signficant funding level for the company's early flight trials.

Kistler, under the leadership of former NASA Manned Spaceflight chief George Mueller, is proposing a two stage fully reusable launch vehicle that will operate out of either the U.S. or Australian launch sites.