On the evening of September 26, President Ma Ying-jeou attended the welcome banquet for the 2014 Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation and World Franchise Council Meetings. In addition to welcoming participants to the event, the president briefed listeners on the government's efforts to develop the services industry and sign international trade and economic agreements.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion, Taiwan Chairman Tom Hsu (許湘鋐) asked him three years ago to pen a letter in support of the association's bid to host the Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation annual meeting. The president said that he agreed without hesitation because of the association's enormous contribution to the development of Taiwan's services industry. President Ma added that he is delighted to see a six-in-one franchise event, which includes the Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation, World Franchise Council Meeting, and the Taiwan International Chain and Franchise Exhibition, being staged in Taiwan.
The president commented that about 1,000 booths have been set up at this year's franchise exhibition. In addition, some 200 brands are being represented and 10,000 professionals from overseas are attending the event. He noted that some 8,000 franchise agreements could be signed during the exhibition, facilitating the efforts of 100 franchise service operators to expand their presence in the international market. In addition, about 50 agreements are expected to be signed between Taiwan franchise service operators and international parties, generating enormous business opportunities for both Taiwan and other nations.
President Ma explained that the services industry is an important driver of Taiwan's economic development, and franchise and chain stores are at the core of this. He stated that over 2,000 franchise and chain outlets operate in Taiwan, employing over one million people. This highlights the importance of this sector.
President Ma further said that the government's development strategy emphasizes internationalization and the adoption of high technology in the service sector. In addition, promoting integration and the development of unique characteristics will enable Taiwan's services industry to post strong growth and rapidly expand into overseas markets. The president stated that in recent years Taiwan's franchise and chain store systems have already been making inroads into the international market. Examples include the opening of Dante Coffee outlets in the Middle East, CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice in Asia, and Taiwan Elephant King laundry shops in mainland China. These examples show that Taiwan's franchise stores are already gaining footholds overseas.
As for regional economic integration, President Ma remarked, last year Taiwan signed the ANZTEC economic cooperation agreement with New Zealand and the ASTEP economic partnership agreement with Singapore, which has helped Taiwan's efforts to move further ahead with trade liberalization. The nation hopes to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and become more integrated into the world economy, he added.
Among those attending the banquet were World Franchise Council Chairman Ian Robertson, Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation Chairman Datuk Mohd Latip Sarrugi, Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion, Taiwan Chairman Tom Hsu, 2014 Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation Meetings Chairman Li Jih-Tung (李日東) and Vice Chairwoman Xu Jiao-lian (徐嬌蓮), Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Cho Shih-chao (卓士昭), Taipei City Deputy Mayor Chen Yeong-ren (陳永仁), and National Policy Advisor to the President Yen Wen-hsi (顏文熙).