The first Taiwan Expo in Europe launched on Monday in Berlin, with more than 100 Taiwanese businesses and their European counterparts seeking to cooperate, primarily in the digital sector.
The three-day expo in the German capital targets digital and “green” transition opportunities in the EU, and is estimated to generate more than US$50 million in business opportunities, said the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會), the event’s organizer.
The expo’s themes range from eco-mobility and smart healthcare to artificial intelligence (AI), TAITRA said on the event’s Web site.
Photo: CNA
TAITRA, a semi-governmental organization that promotes trade, said that the Taiwan-EU Semiconductor Forum, a side event attended by key players from among Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) business partners, attracted about 200 participants.
At the forum, firms such as Merck KGaA, Infineon Technologies AG, MediaTek Inc (聯發科) and Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱) discussed issues ranging from semiconductor supply chain management to automotive electronics collaboration and technological innovation, TAITRA said.
International Trade Administration Director-General Cynthia Kiang (江文若) said at the expo she was optimistic about Taiwan’s role in AI development, highlighting the country’s strengths in the information and communications industry.
Realtek vice president Huang Yee-wei (黃依瑋) said that his company, which established a branch office in Munich, Germany, last year to assist clients, aimed to leverage the German automotive industry’s leading advantages in manufacturing technology and safety.
The EU is Taiwan’s largest source of foreign investment, accounting for more than one-quarter of the country’s total foreign direct investment, government data showed.
Taiwan is the EU’s 12th-largest trading partner, while the EU is Taiwan’s fourth-largest partner globally, the data showed.
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