Taiwan Today

Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp. will be a cooperation partner of the 2010Asian Games, according to the terms of an agreement signed Oct. 27. The agreement was signed in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Among those in attendance were Wei Po-tao, chairman of TTL, and Xu Ruisheng, the vice mayor of Guangzhou who is also Deputy Executive Secretary General of the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee. “This agreement means that cross-strait economic and cultural exchanges have further deepened. May TTL use the games as a platform to promote its products in mainland China, such as its famous Taiwan Beer,” Xu said during the signing ceremony. The GAGOC official Web site featured the agreement prominently, and included an introduction to Taiwan Beer and TTL. It noted that Taiwan Beer has captured more than 70 percent of the Taiwan beer market. How much it cost TTL to obtain partnership was left undisclosed. But it is known that the mainland home appliance manufacturer TCL Corp., which like TTL is classified as a “second-level” sponsor of the games, paid 80 million Chinese yuan (US$13 million) for its rights. On May 7 of this year TTL received an official trademark license of Taiwan Beer in the mainland. It now has representative offices in Fujian Province, as well as in Shanghai and Tianjin. The 16th Asian Games will be held between Nov. 12 and Nov. 27, 2010, in Guangzhou City, China. Twelve thousand athletes from 45 countries and territories are expected to attend the games. (TYH-HZW)