The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) has re-elected Hakan Cervell, the president of Ericsson Taiwan, as its chairman, as the foreign trade group seeks to strengthen its presence in the local market.
Cervell was elected by the new board of directors at their first meeting following the chamber’s annual general meeting last week.
“This has been a successful year with frequent engagement with government ministries and agencies, helping to promote the business interests of our members,” ECCT vice chairman Giuseppe Izzo said in a statement.
With more than US$44 billion in direct investments, European businesses are the largest group of foreign investors in Taiwan.
Membership rose to a record of more than 860, and the quality and participation at events remained high, the ECCT said.
The chamber saw a similar level of progress in terms of advocacy compared with last year.
It recommended establishing an energy industry supervisory commission vested with the authority to coordinate among government agencies and collaborate with the private sector to resolve administrative difficulties and streamline the application process.
Too many agencies are involved in the application process for renewables and there is a lack of coordination among them, it said earlier.
The necessary investment in grid infrastructure to allow the addition of renewable energy sources has not yet been forthcoming, it added.
The ECCT has also recommended allowing workers the option of working on rest days and increasing the monthly overtime maximum, saying Taiwan is facing shortages of both white and blue-collar workers in several sectors.
In particular, the chamber has pressed for flexibility in working hour accounting and exemptions on work hour rules for sales staff, senior managers and those whose salaries exceed NT$200,000 (US$6,660) per month.
Labor rules introduced in December last year have reduced employers’ flexibility to manage their workforce and increased their personnel and administrative costs, it said.
The ECCT also serves to keep the European Commission and parliament as well as the governments of individual European nations informed about Taiwan’s business environment.
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