Taiwanese entrepreneurs in India

          The Tamilnadu state Government is considering establishment of a 200-acre Special Economic Zone in Tamil Nadu to attract investments from Taiwan’s entrepreneurs and business houses. ‘TAITRONICS India 2007’, an industry-oriented B2B electronics show featuring 80 Taiwan companies, 120 pavilions and 200 businessmen, Mr. Das said the Taiwan SEZ would open up a slot for small and medium enterprises to compete alongside big business houses. A single window mechanism will also be established to expedite necessary clearances to set up industry in Tamil Nadu..

Direct flight

          The modalities of introducing a direct flight between Chennai and Taipei were being worked out at various levels. Mr. Das said there were already several Taiwanese businesses operating in Chennai and “we expect many more to set up shop.” The committed investment of Taiwan companies in Tamil Nadu was to the tune of $500 million. This is merely the beginning and more investments were bound to flow in, he added.

          Chun-Fang Hsu, Deputy Director-General, Bureau of Foreign Trade, Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs, said her country saw India as an important trade partner in future in the context of the South Asian market. Bilateral trade had registered an upswing in recent years, with the aggregate touching $2.71 billion in 2006, up 11 per cent over 2005. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council, which had an overseas Indian office in Mumbai, is opening one in Chennai to shepherd investors in industries as diverse as electronics and pharmaceuticals to textiles and food processing.

          Andrew Li-Yan Hsia, Ambassador, Taipei Economic and Culture Centre, New Delhi, said a synergy of India’s young and talented human resource pool and Taiwan’s hardworking business community would benefit both economies. Walter Yeh, executive vice-president, Taiwan External Trade Development Council, said Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign trade ranked India as the 20th largest trading partner. Bilateral trade till June, 2007, had increased by 68 per cent over that achieved during the same phase the previous year.

Win-win proposition

          S. Mahalingam, chairman of ‘Connect 2007’, said an Indo-Taiwan trade relationship symbolised a win-win proposition for both sides. As a sideshow to ‘Connect,’ which brought in different countries, technologies and industry professionals each year, the Taiwan expo provided an opportunity to discover Tamil Nadu’s attributes as an investment destination, he said. Gopal Srinivasan, director, TVS Electronics, said if India was “incredible” as a tourism destination, it sought to be “credible” as a business partner. Noting that information about Taiwan was lacking among the business community in India and vice-versa, he said it was time for aggressive promotion of the ‘Brand Taiwan.’

Committed investment of Taiwanese firms in Tamil Nadu is to the tune of $500 million

Bilateral trade stood at $2.71 billion in 2006