Taiwan hopes for increased cooperation with Japan in multiple areas, including talent cultivation and funding for innovation, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said on Tuesday, calling on Japanese firms to invest in Taiwan.
At a joint news conference held by the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Liu touted Taiwan as a destination for Japanese investors, pointing to the semiconductor industry as a key sector in which the two countries complement each other.
Citing international tech giants such as Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc, which recently announced their intention to establish research and development centers in Taiwan, Liu said it is the right time to invest in Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the National Development Council
He said that he expected the cooperation between Taiwan and Japan to grow into a strong partnership that could take advantage of global business opportunities.
Liu, who is heading a delegation of representatives from almost 50 innovation firms to a Taiwan-Japan start-up summit in Tokyo, said that to strengthen collaboration in developing advanced technologies and setting up start-up ecosystems, the two sides should focus on how to solicit international funds, cultivate a talent pool, connect to global markets and develop “deep tech.”
Deep tech refers to the field of highly sophisticated technology rooted in advanced scientific principles and engineering innovations.
With Taiwan and Japan each emphasizing technological innovation in their respective economies, both have developed their own models for attracting foreign funding, Liu said, adding that Taiwan has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corp, funded by Kyoto University, to seek start-ups to invest in.
In terms of talent cultivation, Liu said Taiwan has worked with the Japanese industrial sector to develop high-end technologies and that it hopes to expand such cooperation into talent exchanges.
Taiwan’s industrial sector has a solid foundation in semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) development, and it is expected that Taipei and Tokyo would be able to jointly develop AI, robots and deep tech to address the impact of their aging societies, Liu said.
As for how to connect with international markets, the NDC has launched the “Bridge” program to assist Taiwanese start-ups, he said, adding that yesterday’s launch of an innovation hub in Tokyo was the first step of that program.
According to the council, the innovation hub is expected to serve as a regular platform for comprehensive bilateral exchanges between Taiwan and Japan — in contrast to the previous pattern of sporadic one-off events — thereby paving the way for more substantive business cooperation.
Through these hub-hosted exchanges, start-ups from Taiwan and Japan would be able to extend their reach to find more business opportunities, Liu said.
In addition to Tokyo, the council plans to set up similar start-up innovation hubs in the US and Southeast Asia.
Taiwan has entered an era of massive private investments, which are estimated to top NT$5 trillion (US$156.5 billion) this year, Liu said.
Taiwan’s government has also encouraged the insurance industry to seek more investment, with a goal of US$5 billion per year, he added.
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