Held at the Taipei International Convention Center and organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the TBAC was aimed at introducing international businesspeople to Taiwan's investment environment and economic conditions. An overture to a full 12 months of related activities to be held both in Taiwan and overseas, the conference kicked off with an award ceremony at which Economics Minister Chen Ruey-long praised AIG, Citigroup, Corning Display Technologies Taiwan, DuPont Taiwan, IBM Taiwan and Kuozui Motors for their investments in Taiwan. These six winners of the Best Investment Partner Award "have made such a vital contribution toward employment in Taiwan as well as to the development and upgrading of our industries," local media reported Chen as saying.
In his speech to the conference, Smith cited Taiwan's solid performances over the previous year, which included posting the world's third-largest foreign exchange reserves and its prosperous domestic trade figures, said CNA. He also mentioned that Taiwan's total export value for the last quarter of 2005 was large enough to counterbalance the island's sluggish domestic demand. Looking at the growth in export volume so far this year, Smith was sanguine about domestic demand.
According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Finance, the nation's export value in September hit a record monthly high, topping US$20 billion. Posting year-on-year growth of 20.3 percent, electronic, steel, optoelectronic and precision machinery products represented 82 percent of exported items.
Smith also predicted that Taiwan's gross domestic product would rise by more than 4 percent over the year, according to CNA.
Taiwan's favorable investment environment drew Macquarie, Australia's largest investment bank, to purchase Taiwan Broadband Communications, which has the third-largest share of the Asian market. This acquisition was predicted to help Macquarie extend its services to 90,000 broadband users and 650,000 cable TV customers.
Another conference participant, Edward King of Morgan Stanley's merger and acquisition department, also expressed optimism about the domestic market, reported CNA. King mentioned that foreign-owned banks were still looking for M&A targets, which could enable local companies to expand while also offering them international business management techniques and their customers access to a wider variety of overseas financial products.
Citing the merger between Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair, King claimed that M&A could enhance production capacity and lower costs. He also said that M&A had become a growing trend within the banking industry, pointing to London-based Standard Chartered Bank's recent tender offer to buy Hsinchu International Bank.
Asked about Morgan Stanley's own plans to invest in Taiwan, a company spokesperson declined to comment, however.
Also at TBAC, Chen was reported as welcoming foreign investment in Taiwan, adding that the government's development fund could provide assistence worth up to 20 percent of capital for investments in local industries.