Economy

Tokyo welcomes ROC investment promotion mission

Deputy MOEA Minister Francis Kuo-hsin Liang (center) is all smiles for a photo July 11 after business representatives in Taiwan and Japan inked letters of intent and a memorandum of understanding. (CNA)

• Publication Date：07/12/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Grace Kuo

An ROC investment promotion delegation to Japan has been warmly received in Tokyo, with more than 300 representatives from the Japanese business community attending a workshop given by the delegation July 11, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The delegation has been charged with the task of promoting Taiwan as an investment destination and describing the benefits that come from Taiwan-Japan industrial cooperation, the ministry added.

“Japan is Taiwan’s second largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Japan’s fifth,” Shen Ssu-tsun, ROC representative to Japan, said during the presentation. “Since both sides inked an investment protection pact in September 2011, the number of major Japanese investments in Taiwan hit a record high of 441 this January.”

Deputy MOEA Minister Francis Kuo-hsin Liang added, “Ties between the two sides have been close for a long time. Japanese investment to Taiwan reached US$440 million in 2011, up 11 percent from a year ago, while Taiwanese investment to Japan increased fivefold to reach US$250 million during the same period.

“In light of the changing global economic situation, the strengthening of cross-strait relations, and Japan’s changing industrial strategy, Taiwan and Japan should enhance connections and create win-win opportunities in the industrial sector,” Liang said.

The deputy minister noted that many Japanese companies are investing in Taiwan because they understand that the island can serve as a springboard to the mainland Chinese market.

This is especially true now that many goods produced in Taiwan can be sold tax free to mainland China, thanks to the signing of the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in 2010, he added.

According to the MOEA, prior to the July 11 presentation in Tokyo, the ministry’s Department of Investment Services inked letters of intent with Japan’s Takaoka Electric Mfg Co. Ltd. and Nippon Aleph Corp., with Takaoka interested in setting up a semiconductor testing plant in Taiwan, and Aleph planning to invest in Taiwan’s automobile parts industry.

The Taiwan-Japan Industrial Collaboration Promotion Office, supported by the MOEA Industrial Development Bureau, also signed a memorandum of understanding with Tokyo-based DLE (Dream Link Entertainment) Inc., aiming to provide assistance for DLE to establish partnership with its Taiwanese counterparts.

The group, in Japan from July 8 to 13, is scheduled to visit leading Japanese firms seeking tie-ups in the communications, digital content, food and logistics services, retailing and semiconductor sectors. (HZW)

Write to Grace Kuo at mlkuo@mofa.gov.tw