A high-profile delegation will depart for Japan today to seek partners for joint ventures in technological innovations and new product commercialization.
It will be the first “road show” group to be sent abroad to solicit foreign investment and partnerships since the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was signed with China on June 29.
“The group will visit 11 heavyweight Japanese corporations in the Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo areas to look for joint ventures in the fields of technological development, business management and market exploration,” said Minister without Portfolio Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘), who will lead the delegation.
Yiin said the main purpose of his mission will not be to encourage Japanese companies to set up plants in Taiwan, but to convince them to collaborate with Taiwan in research and development and in converting ideas and prototypes into viable products to make inroads into China and other markets around the world.
Once the ECFA takes effect next year, hundreds of Taiwanese products will be allowed to enter China tariff-free and some Taiwanese service sectors will also enjoy easier market access to China.
“In the wake of the signing of the ECFA, the government’s priority is to find ways to cash in on these advantages to create more opportunities for international cooperation and joint ventures to help boost our economic development,” Yiin said.
Yiin said that during the trip, which ends next Sunday, his delegation will brief Japanese business executives on Taiwan’s desire to integrate with Japan and China to form a modern, high-tech version of the Silk Road.
The group expects to sign five memorandums of understanding on technological cooperation and a letter of intent on cooperation with Japanese conglomerates, Yiin said without elaborating.
It will also lobby three Japanese high-tech giants — Fujitsu, NEC and Mitsubishi — to form a joint venture system integration company with their Taiwanese counterparts to develop WiMAX technologies, Yiin said, adding that the three Japanese conglomerates have shown keen interest in the proposal.
The Japanese companies that Yiin’s group intends to visit cover a wide range of sectors from green energy, creative and cultural industries, digital content and financial services, to information and communication technologies and precision machinery.
Yiin said he believes that the upcoming trip will help build up a new, cooperative Taiwan-Japan business model.
Moreover, he predicted that interactions between Taiwanese and Japanese businesses will become even closer following the signing of the ECFA, particularly after the launch of direct flights between Taipei Songshan Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.
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