Foreign companies that intend to start operations in Taiwan may consider renting temporary office space in the Taipei World Trade Center, which provides bountiful resources and information, a trade official said yesterday.
The TWTC International Business Center, located on the fifth floor of the Taipei World Trade Center, was inaugurated in October last year by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) for foreign companies that want to enter the local market but don't know how and where to start.
"Companies that make use of the space are satisfied with the facilities and service we provide here ... it's like a base for them to adjust to the environment before they settle down in the city," TAITRA Vice President Julian Lee (
Eleven foreign companies are currently housed in the center, including US medical products maker Emergency Filtration Products Inc, Japanese restaurant-chain investors Hanamaru and Hotland, Italian information technology product manufacturer Atlantis Land and seven foreign companies that have only recently set foot in Taiwan, Lee said.
Each office has about 12 ping of floor space and includes furniture, telephone, fax and broadband Internet access. Tenants can also use the lounge, which contains two conference rooms, for free. The primary monthly rental is NT$30,000. But for companies that are new to the country and deal with industries the government is keen to develop, such as business involving the high-tech sector, the rental is NT$18,000 for the first six months.
Lauding the business center as an effective way to attract investment, Angela Chu (瞿大文), director general of the Industrial Development and Investment Center under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said the government anticipates bringing in more foreign investors ahead of this year's Taiwan Business Alliance Conference, to be held from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10 in Taipei.
The four-day event will focus on integrated circuit design, information technology and biotechnology. The conference is expected to attract about 400 local and foreign guests.
Last year, the same event drew over 600 participants representing 241 investment projects worth NT$147.8 billion, according to the ministry. In addition, for the first nine months of the year, the nation has clinched 846 foreign direct investments worth US$2.59 billion, a growth of 10.44 percent by number and a 18.31 percent jump in value from a year ago.
"We are happy with the results, but will never be satisfied," Chu said, "We'll keep pursuing higher goals."
She said the nation's semiconductor and thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) industries play an important role in the global supply chain.
The cluster effect, technology, talent and efficient management help to make Taiwan the top destination for companies wanting to invest in Asia, Chu said.
"Taiwan is a base for foreign businesses in terms of sourcing and talent recruitment when they want to do business in China; it is not a springboard that will be discarded after use," she added.
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