Mr Ben Wang, Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in
Chennai (TECC), has led a delegation to visit the state of Karnataka,
participated in an economic roundtable meeting convened by the Commerce and
Industries Department of the State of Karnataka and called on Chief Minister
B. S. Yediyurappa and Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries
excluding Sugar Jagadish Shettar on 11 December 2020.
A presentation on the advantages of doing business in the state of Karnataka
including favourable incentives, political stability, moderate climate, talented
human resource and the innovation-driven economy were made. It is hoped that
Taiwan and India will strengthen economic ties not only in the field of electric
vehicles manufacturing, aerospace production and machinery sector, but also
those involving the expansion of the information technology industry.
Wang noted that Taiwan and India have complementary advantages ;
Bengaluru is known as the Silicon Valley of India, whereas Taiwan has the edge
on semiconductor manufacturing. It is highly anticipated that bilateral
cooperation will lead to the formation of a Taiwan business cluster in
Bengaluru.
Wang said that the Taiwan government has implemented the New Southbound
A policy which highlights a significant role that India plays. Emphasizing a
restructure of the supply chain in the post-pandemic era, Wang advised that the
Indian counterpart should provide better services including supply of quality
water and reliable power, hassle-free land acquisition and infrastructure
connectivity, convenience in visa application procedure and incentive
measures to Taiwan investors. He noted that Taiwan investors will have
confidence in doing business in India as long as a well-organized framework on
Taiwan-India cooperation is in place and all commitment can be delivered by
the Indian counterparts.
In 2019, the total trade volume between Taiwan and India amounts to 5.72 billion US dollars. In terms of investment, up to this time Taiwan investors
have established 105 business operations across India with a cumulative
investment of 1.5 billion US dollars. The bilateral relation on trade and
investment can be expected to increase massively in the years to come.
As for the pending case of Technology Innovation International Park (TIIP)
developed by Century Development Corporation (CDC) at Bengaluru, Wang
said that it has become a great concern shared among the Taiwan government
and the corporate sectors; and a resolution to the TIIP case will be regarded as
an indication that will attract more Taiwan investors to engage economic
activities in Karnataka. Wang hoped that the government of Karnataka will
address the issue and that both sides can work out in an amicable way. It is
desired to see the completion of the signature for the land lease aiming for a
win-win situation.
Wang took the opportunity to reiterate the fact that 90% of Taiwan
businessmen are from medium and small enterprises who want to invest in
India but have no capacity to handle land issues. He stressed that TIIP with
the capacity to accommodate about 120 small and medium enterprises
from Taiwan will serve as a key component of Taiwan clusters and critical
suppliers for big Taiwan companies such as Winston, Delta Electronics and
Foxconn. Through the TIPP model, more Taiwan businessmen will be
encouraged to make investments in India and thus more industrial parks to be
developed. As a result, the total amount of trade and investment between
Taiwan and India can easily be doubled or even more in a short period of time.
While meeting with the Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Industrial Minister
Jagadish Shettar, Wang proposed that a representative be assigned to Taiwan
who can promote the state of Karnataka and provide service to those who
take interest in doing business in Karnataka. In addition, Wang extended an
invitation to CM Yediyurappa to visit Taiwan next year to strengthen bilateral
cooperative relations. To help battle the coronavirus pandemic, 20 thousand
medical masks were donated and CM Yediyurappa expressed his gratitude on
behalf of the people and government of the state of Karnataka.