The government is assessing the feasibility of renewing an economic cooperation agreement with Indonesia to foster bilateral trade and investment, as part of efforts to push the New Southbound Policy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
A feasibility assessment, which began at the end of last year, is expected to be completed later this year, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said before the opening ceremony of the Taiwan Expo in Jakarta.
“An assessment was finished in 2012, but things have changed [over the past few years]. We have to take into account the present situation,” Wang told reporters.
The government plans to renew a bilateral investment agreement with Indonesia aimed at protecting investment in each other’s territory.
Taiwanese companies last year invested a total of US$397 million in Indonesia, a 166 percent jump from US$149 million in 2016, government data showed.
The ministry said it is to begin studying the details of a renewal after it acquires an English-language bilateral investment agreement template drafted by the Indonesian government, but did not provide a timetable.
Renewal of the agreement with Indonesia would mark another step in Taiwan’s strengthening of economic ties with Southeast Asian nations, after a bilateral investment agreement with the Philippines was renewed in December last year.
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) yesterday opened the Taiwan Expo in Jakarta, with the aim of helping Taiwanese firms explore “southbound” opportunities in the world’s fourth-largest country by population.
The government-backed trade promotion agency last year launched the Taiwan Expo project, which targets markets including Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
“We held our first-ever Taiwan Expo in Southeast Asia here [Jakarta] last year and that was a big success,” TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳) said, adding that the matchmaking event generated US$49.25 million in orders.
For this year’s exhibition, TAITRA invited 230 Taiwanese companies from 10 industries, including machinery, home appliances, cosmetics and food and beverage.
TAITRA has also set up new pavilions for digital commerce and bubble tea, in a bid to expand Taiwan’s presence in Indonesian markets.
Taiwan, whose e-commerce market reached US$34.2 billion in sales last year, is likely to duplicate its success in Indonesia, TAITRA said.
The business-to-business Taiwan Expo runs until tomorrow at the Jakarta Convention Center, showcasing more than 4,500 products and services provided by Taiwanese firms.
The three-day event is expected to attract more visitors than last year’s 18,188 people, TAITRA said.
AVOIDING CONFUSION: Passengers are to be able to check in two items of luggage, while the free weight allowance is to be increased to conform with other airlines EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday announced that from June 23 it is to adopt a new baggage allowance policy for all passengers with a higher weight limit as it aims to benefit passengers and increase efficiency. The airline currently has a two-system baggage policy: It allows passengers flying to the US and Canada to check in two pieces of baggage with a free weight allowance, while for those flying to Asia, Europe and Oceania there is also a free weight allowance, but no limit on the number of pieces of baggage. From June 23, passengers would be able to check in two
MORE THAN BUZZ: The chip designer said it has received numerous orders from automakers to supply 5G modem chips, as it works to expand beyond smartphones MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it would ship the first 5G chips for vehicles to customers in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the year, as it moves to expand the reach of its 5G chips beyond smartphones. The Hsinchu-based chip designer said it has been developing 5G chips for connected vehicles over the past few years, targeting applications such as telematics and in-vehicle information systems. “We are seeing demand for 5G technology from numerous makers of connected cars, including electric vehicle makers. We have obtained numerous orders from automakers to supply 5G modem chips with highly integrated features,” J.C. Hsu
Qualcomm Inc yesterday said it would maintain its supply chain strategy of sourcing chips from multiple foundry partners, including advanced chips from two major suppliers, to ensure a sufficient chip supply amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualcomm is reportedly working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co on advanced products, such as 4-nanometer chips, for its new flagship 5G chips, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 series. Qualcomm is sourcing chips made by mature technologies from several foundry partners, the company said. Alex Katouzian, general manager of Qualcomm Technologies Inc’s mobile, compute and XR business, told a virtual media briefing that
US DRAM maker Micron Technology Inc is set to install the industry’s most cutting-edge technology — extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment — in its facility in Taichung this year, the company said yesterday. In early preparation for the volume production of 1-gamma nanometer node DRAM, “we plan to introduce EUV tools to our Taichung fab later this year,” Micron president and chief executive officer Sanjay Mehrotra said via video at the Computex trade show in Taipei. Gamma refers to the dimension of half the distance between cells in a DRAM chip. Micron is also looking forward to beginning mass production of its
RSS