The third edition of the EU Investment Forum would be held in Taipei next month, focusing on opportunities in sustainable industries in the EU, the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) said on Wednesday.
The one-day event, to be held on Oct. 25, would include a series of discussions on how Taiwan and the EU can collaborate on building a sustainable future, the office said.
Kerstin Jorna, director-general of the European Commission’s Department of Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, would deliver a keynote address, titled the “European Green Deal: A transition toward climate neutrality, circular and competitive economy,” the office said.
Other participants would provide information about the investment environment, regulations and policies in the EU, with regard to various industries in different nations, it said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and other top government officials are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony, the office said.
EETO Director Filip Grzegorzewski told a news conference that the EU has resources such as professional workers, top academic and research institutes, and excellent infrastructure.
It would be in the interest of Taiwanese companies to invest in the EU’s 27 member nations and benefit from its single market, he said.
As the biggest investor in the nation, the EU has “a commitment to Taiwan,” and sees the nation as a “like-minded partner” and “a fellow democracy” that values the rule of law, Grzegorzewski said.
“We want to see Taiwan grow; we want to see Taiwan develop. We want Taiwan to internationalize... We want Taiwan to be part of the international community,” he said.
Amid global challenges, such as supply chain disruptions and energy crises, Taiwan and the EU would be “better off” if they work together and share their experiences, Grzegorzewski added.
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-Chyi (陳正祺) told the news conference that the government maintains its policy to “help Taiwanese businesses connect internationally.”
“We encourage our companies to form and to integrate into European supply chains to become trusted and reliable partners of Europe,” Chen said.
The EETO said that it plans to hold two other business events next month. The first one would be held on Tuesday next week in Taoyuan, featuring the electric vehicle industry, while the other, scheduled for Oct. 8 in Kaohsiung, is to focus on the information and communication technology industry.
EU-based companies in 2020 invested a total of US$48.8 billion in Taiwan, accounting for 25.7 percent of total foreign direct investment that year, while Taiwanese firms invested US$7.3 billion in the EU, EETO data showed.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last