The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has decided to target China, Indonesia, India and Vietnam for its market exploration efforts next year through a fair-price branding strategy, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) told a year-end news conference yesterday.
“The MOEA hopes to win customer trust and to control distribution channels by promoting fairly priced, high-end Taiwanese products in emerging markets through trade shows, particularly in those four countries, through a branding strategy that will build Taiwan into a global operations hub,” Shih said.
Predicting that the global economy would gradually regain momentum next year and begin posting positive growth, Shih said that emerging countries, not developed nations, would play the role of growth engine for the international economy.
Citing data compiled by the IMF, Shih said that China and India will be the world’s second and fifth-largest consumers respectively by 2015.
The minister said this was a signal for Taiwan-based enterprises to seize the immense business opportunities that would arise in these markets.
The rise of the middle class in emerging markets also pointed to the popularity of “fair-price luxury” style and value-added products, providing Taiwan with a chance to tap into markets with high-end but inexpensive goods, he explained.
Shih also announced that electricity and water rates would not increase next year, while the current fuel pricing system would be maintained.
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