The Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday it aims to attract 100 more foreign enterprises to open regional offices in Taiwan within the next two years.
Counting the existing 200 foreign firms, Taiwan would become a trade hub for more than 300 foreign firms to operate their businesses in the Asia-Pacific market, which would bring in NT$62.64 billion (US$2.13 billion) in foreign investment and 10,656 jobs in three years, the ministry said.
PRIME REAL ESTATE
“Given its location, Taiwan can serve as a trade hub in the Asia-Pacific market, but there are still some regulations that should be removed to make the country as competitive as Singapore and Hong Kong,” Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juh (張家祝) said.
“We hope the investment environment becomes more attractive so that more foreign firms will be willing to choose Taiwan as a place to hunt for talent and to provide high value-added services,” he said.
PATENT POOL
Meanwhile, Kai Hsiao (蕭國坤), general manager of Hewlett-Packard Co’s Taiwan bureau, said the government should also try to promote talent to the global market.
“Taiwan is by far the world’s largest country in terms of the number of patents it gains,” Hsiao said. “However, the government needs to think how to better help local talent utilize their skills or patents while attracting more firms to enter the market.”
Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) director Steven Yang (楊家彥) said the nation remains appealing to foreign enterprises wanting to explore the Greater China market.
Many foreign enterprises have chosen not to invest in Japan because they understand there is tension in the relationship between China and Japan, he said.
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