Print

Mail

wiki links

Official lauds Taiwan-Germany economic cooperation

Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) said yesterday that economic cooperation between Taiwan and Germany is mutually beneficial and it will open avenues into the global market.

Ho made the remarks at a seminar hosted by the German Trade Office in Taipei to tout the nation's investments in Germany, the largest single market in the EU.

German Federal Vice Minister of Transport, Building and Housing Iris Gleicke and Taiwan Committee of German Economy President Michael Fuchs also took part in the seminar, which focused on introducing the investment climate in Germany and the legal process and tax system.

Praising Germany as a superpower in both high technologies as well as traditional sectors including automobiles, medicines, chemistry and basic metal industries and green businesses, Ho said that two-way cooperative ventures between Taiwan and German industries will create a win-win situation for the two sides, as the Taiwan and German economies are complementary in many fields.

She pointed to Inotera Memory Inc (華亞半導體), a 50-50 joint venture set up by the Taiwan-based Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) and the German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG, as an example and called the company the best example in the IC industries of the two countries.

Two-way trade totaled US$10.3 billion last year, with US$5.8 billion in inbound shipments from Germany and US$4.5 billion in outbound shipments, Ho said. Germany is the country's largest trading partner in Europe, while Taiwan is Germany's fourth-largest trading partner in Asia.

Since March 1952, German investments here have to date amounted to US$1.22 billion, the third-largest investor from Europe in Taiwan. At the same time, investments in Germany totaled US$120 million from some 230 companies.

For German's part, Fuchs said the increasingly positive trend in the bilateral trade is continuing because both countries are highly dependent on foreign trade.

But he suggested both countries could work further on two areas -- the double-taxation agreement and the investment security agreement -- to help intensify the investment relationship in the long run.

"For the future I see more promising business cooperation and trade opportunities in all high-industrialized sectors like information and telecommunication technology, bio- and environmental technology and services," he said.

Fuchs and Muller, who arrived here Monday, are slated to leave today.
This story has been viewed 1857 times.