If Taiwan wants to reinforce its global competitiveness, it needs to make knowledge more transferable, increase business efficiency, eliminate government interference in business and foster national brands, International Institute for Management Development president Dominique Turpin said yesterday at a forum.
Turpin said that although Taiwan’s ranking in the Switzerland-based business school’s world competitiveness survey improved to No. 7 last year from No. 23 in 2009, the nation can still strengthen its entrepreneurship, increase transparency in government and corporate management, and develop unique brands to enhance its competitiveness.
In a forum organized by the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC, 工商協進會), Turpin said that the many large firms in Taiwan’s world-renowned information technology sector should cooperate more with research centers and small to medium-sized enterprises to make knowledge more transferable.
In the regional market, the country needs to expand its exports from the high-tech sector and diversify its economy. This would attract more foreign investment to Taiwan and further develop its financial system to fully benefit from its geographical proximity to Hong Kong and China, Turpin said.
He said that this geographical advantage could be hugely beneficial if the nation eased immigration laws to attract more foreign professionals and give it the potential to become Asia’s “knowledge hub.”
Anthony Lo (羅祥安), chief executive officer of local bicycle maker Giant Global Group (巨大集團), said the government needs to establish a vision.
“What Taiwanese enterprises want to see is the government striving to help businesses build unique brands that can provide innovative products and services,” Lo said on the sidelines of the forum.
Lo said Taiwan needs to integrate into regional markets as soon as possible so local firms can enjoy the trading privileges that other nation’s companies do, such as tariff exemptions.
“The markets are changing so fast that the rules have been reset, and if we don’t catch up, it is going to be harder for us to hold our own in the global market,” he added.
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