In expanding into the South Asian market, the central government has held the 15th Asia Business Day for the first time in Taichung, where 70 medium to large buyers from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal negotiated one on one with over 400 manufacturers in Taiwan. In particular, there were over 16 major buyers from South Asia with annual turnover of more than US$100 million, including numerous buyers from the South Asian car/motorcycle components, machinery, IT & communication, green trading, medical supplies and electrical appliance industries. In total, they exceeded last year’s purchasing power, estimated to have generated US$43.5 million’s worth of business.
This year’s Asia Business Day was organized by Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA and co-organized by Economic Development Bureau of Taichung City Government, IDIPC (Industrial Development and Investment Promotion Committee) of Taichung City, TAMI (Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry), TEEMA (Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturer’s Association) and TTVMA (Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Association). The event was executed by TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council).

The overseas buyer meeting and market briefing took place on the 19th, and Taichung City Mayor Lin Chia-lung attended the unveiling ceremony accompanied by Economic Development Bureau Director Lu Yao-zhi, TAITRA Vice Chairman Zhuang Shuo-han. Deputy General Manager of CSGT (China Steel Global Trading Corporation, subsidiary of CSC Group) Guo Yi-ren also shared with Taiwanese manufactures the company’s successful experience rooting in India. Furthermore, researchers from TAITRA’s Market Development Department also introduced the sectoral characteristics and market conditions of EV industry in India and the machine tools industry, while several major South Asian manufacturers were invited to introduce the procurement policy of their respective countries.

Mayor Lin suggested that Taichung is the home hometown of small and medium businesses. It is equipped with comprehensive, outstanding precision machinery industry clusters such as semiconductor, ITC, optics, textile and bicycles. The industry cluster, known as 60-km-long Golden Valley, is the best place for investment in Taiwan.

Mayor Lin emphasized that in addition to the population of 700 million people from ASEAN nations, the entire population of 1.7 billion people largely based on India indicates that South Asia is now the emerging market. Consequently, the New Southbound Policy shouldn’t be only limited to 10 ASEAN nations, but further expands to South Asia.

Lin says, for the last 3 years, Taichung City Government has engaged in multiple visits and dialogues with India Taipei Association to accumulate a solid foundation for the relation between the 2 countries, therefore for the first time that Taichung has played host to Asia Business Day, the number of participants has broken last year’s record. It is hoped that the business negotiations will further enhance the economic and trade relations between Taiwan and South Asia, facilitating Taiwan’s entry into the markets of the 5 South Asian nations.

TAITRA Vice Chairman Zhuang Shuo-han commented that India’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) surpassed that of China to become the region with the most capital inflow. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), India exhibited GDP growth of 7% this year, double that of the global average of 3.5%. In addition, the combined population of South Asian countries including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal is 1.7 billion people, making it a vital region among international competitors, therefore it is hoped to expand Taiwan’s overseas market through South Asia Business Day.