Lord Mayor of London Michael Bear, the ambassador for UK-based financial and professional services, said he expected further partnership between the UK and Taiwan this year, with the highest potential for green infrastructure and carbon trading.
Bear, with a City of London business delegation, arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday, seeking opportunities for investment and joint ventures between the UK and Taiwan.
“We are looking forward to furthering our partnership with Taiwan, especially for the huge business opportunity of a low--carbon economy,” Bear said in a speech yesterday.
Taiwan creates 1 percent of global emissions with a population of only 23 million, while the government has announced stretching targets to reduce emissions by 45 percent by 2020, Bear said.
Bear yesterday also attended the opening of the Taiwan offices of two UK-based construction firms, Arup and Mott Macdonald, anticipating the two companies would cooperate with local corporations in green infrastructure and carbon trading.
Currently, Arup has a partnership with Taiwan Land Development Corp (台灣土地開發), helping the state-controlled firm to execute possible projects in green building and ecological communities, a public relations officer in the British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO) said.
Furthermore, the UK expected more Taiwan companies to invest in the UK this year in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics, Bear said.
Acer Inc (宏碁), one of the world’s top three PC brands, might be a good example, because as it has invested as a sponsor of the 2012 London Olympics, it may launch more campaigns in the UK market as the date of the Olympics draws nearer, the BTCO officer added.
The UK showed more interest in investment in industries such as information communications technology, healthcare, transportation and service, the officer said.
Seeking a better relationship and more investment from Taiwan, Bear met with Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday and plans to visit Evergreen Group (長榮集團) founder Chang Yung-fa (張榮發) and executives of Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) during his time in Taiwan.
The UK is Taiwan’s third-largest trading partner in Europe, with 70 percent of Taiwanese investment in Europe located in the UK, and 180 Taiwanese firms based there, the office data showed.
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