The Executive Yuan has approved the Taiwan-Japan Industrial Co-operation Bridge-Building Plan, paving the way for closer industrial ties between the two nations, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs Jan. 4.
Under the plan, slated to be implemented over the next five years, the MOEA hopes to bring about at least 500 partnerships between Taiwanese and Japanese enterprises, double Japanese investment in Taiwan to NT$30 billion (US$989 million), boost Taiwanese exports by another NT$50 billion, and raise the accumulated amount of procurement in Taiwan by Japanese firms to NT$3 trillion.
The MOEA’s Industrial Development Bureau said that several developments in recent years have created excellent opportunities to further deepen the already strong and longstanding industrial co-operation between the two countries. These include the signing of a Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in 2010, the steady appreciation of the Japanese yen, the major earthquake and tsunami disaster that struck northeastern Japan last March, and the signing of a Taiwan-Japan investment protection agreement near the end of last year.
The MOEA said a number of measures will be implemented under the plan to boost bilateral industrial co-operation, including the establishment of an office in Taipei to serve as a one-stop service window and to integrate Taiwan-Japan industrial exchange channels, as well as the setting up of a venture capital fund to provide related financing and to encourage cooperative research and development efforts. Information service outlets will also be established in Japan.
In addition, a 32-hectare Taiwan-Japan industrial innovation park will be opened in Tainan County in southern Taiwan. Applications by enterprises to set up shop in the new park will begin to be accepted later this month, according to the ministry. (SB)