Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Hwang Jung-chiou (黃重球) is scheduled to lead a delegation of top executives on a trip to India early next month as part of the government’s efforts to help local companies tap into the Indian market.
The delegation, which will include representatives from the electronics, machinery, information technology, injection molding equipment and auto parts and components sectors, will attend the opening of an annual Taiwan trade fair to be held in the southern India city of Chennai, a ministry official said.
Hwang will also attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a Taiwan-funded industrial park in Chennai, the fifth most populous city in India and the main air gateway to southern India.
“The Chennai park is the first factory complex to be invested in by Taiwanese companies in India,” the official familiar with the affair said, adding that the park will mainly house small and medium-size enterprises in non-high-tech industries, such as footwear and textiles.
Meanwhile, the official said the ministry has decided to set up shops at two major international airports in New Delhi and Mumbai and five shopping malls in India to sell premium quality or internationally renowned brand-name goods from Taiwan.
Besides inviting popular Indian Bollywood star Lara Dutta to help promote the Taiwan Excellence Award-winning products, the ministry will also collaborate with noted Indian retailer Croma in operating stores exclusively showcasing and retailing top-quality goods from Taiwan.
The delegation to be headed by Huang is scheduled to depart for India on Wednesday next week, the official said.
Since Taiwan signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with China in June, the ministry has singled out India and Indonesia as two key target markets for premium Taiwanese goods, the official said. As part of this drive, he said, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) will lead a promotional group to Indonesia late next month.
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