The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) on Thursday said it would open a liaison office in Kolkata to strengthen trade relations with India.
The office will be Taiwan’s fourth economic office in India, following the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center Economic Division in New Delhi and two Taipei World Trade Center liaison offices in Mumbai and Chennai.
TAITRA deputy chairman Wayne Wu (吳文雅) said the Kolkata office would open by the end of the year.
TAITRA’s latest push into India is aimed at expanding business ties for Taiwan with Asia’s third-largest economy.
India was the 13th-most valuable export destination for Taiwanese goods in the first seven months of the year at US$2.83 billion, up 45.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Meanwhile, Taiwan imported US$2.06 billion in goods from India in the first seven months of the year, an increase of 29.9 percent year-on-year.
TAITRA said the office in Kolkata, the commercial center of eastern India, would also help Taiwan expand into nearby countries such as Nepal and Bhutan.
The announcement was made at the fifth annual Electronics, Machinery, Mold and Auto Parts expo hosted by TAITRA in Chennai, southern India.
Several major Taiwanese tech companies — including Acer Inc (宏碁), Adata Technology Co (威剛), Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), BenQ Corp (佳世達), D-Link Corp (友訊科技) and Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) — are taking part in the three-day exhibition for the first time, Wu said.
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