Taiwan, India tie-up could diversify trade risks: Official

Taipei, August 6 (CNA) Taiwanese companies can benefit from improving economic tie-ups between Taiwan and India by diversifying their businesses, deputy Economics minister Cho Shih-chao said Monday.

“The enhancement of the Taiwan-India economic relationship will help companies diversify their market base and avoid relying on certain regions in terms of foreign trade and investment,” Cho said.

“As a trade-oriented country, Taiwan should have a global positioning strategy, and India will become a key market for Taiwan due to its large area and population,” he said at the Taiwan-India Trade and Business Opportunities Seminar.

The seminar, co-hosted by Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade and British banking group Standard Chartered Plc., invited a number of leading corporate executives to discuss running businesses in India.

Indian attendees included Sharad Mahendra, senior vice president of India’s No. 3 steelmaker JSW Steel, and Raj Easwaran, managing director of Indian electrical and electronics manufacturer Easun Group.

Representatives from Taiwan’s electronics equipment maker Delta Electronics Inc. and personal computer brand Asustek Computer Inc. also took part in the seminar.

Bilateral trade between Taiwan and India grew 17 percent annually to $7.56 billion in 2011, the highest since the two sides set up representative offices in 1995.

For the first six months of this year, however, Taiwan’s exports to India declined 30.51 percent to $1.7 billion, a sign that Taiwanese firms need to address the Indian market more effectively, said Chang Chun-fa, the director-general of the Bureau of Foreign Trade, at the seminar.

India now ranks as Taiwan’s 16th largest trading partner of Taiwan. It is Taiwan’s 15th largest export destination and 16th biggest source of imports, according to bureau statistics.

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Category: Taiwan