A platform to facilitate exchanges under the government’s New Southbound Policy has led to the signing of 69 industrial cooperation agreements between Taiwanese firms and their counterparts in the countries covered by the policy, the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) said yesterday.
The platform for industrial exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region was established by the business group and the Ministry of Economic Affairs in March.
Federation chairman Rock Hsu (許勝雄) said the platform categorizes Taiwanese investors into different groups based on their industries, which is an effective way for them to seek business partners and sign memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with their overseas counterparts.
The initial stage of the platform’s establishment has targeted Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, Hsu said.
The 69 MOUs cover a wide range of industries, based on the different industrial advantages commanded by the six countries, he said.
For example, Taiwanese investors have focused on the textile industry in Vietnam and the auto industry in the Philippines, he added.
The platform would not be limited to the six countries and would be extended under the New Southbound Policy, Hsu said, adding that it aims to upgrade industry and make growth sustainable.
Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said that cooperation under the platform is expected to help Taiwanese companies build a comprehensive supply chain and facilitate industrial exchanges with their counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region.
As many Taiwanese firms are small and medium-sized, the platform is to pave the way for experience sharing in a bid to reduce difficulties for them to go overseas, Shen said.
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