Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian reaffirmed his administration's determination Tuesday to develop Taiwan into a regional R&D center and business operations hub for major corporations from around the world.
Chen made the statement in a speech delivered at a dinner party hosted by the Executive Yuan in recognition of the more than 2, 000 corporate executives and prospective investors who participated in the Oct. 19-22 2003 Taiwan Business Alliance Conference.
In the face of fierce international competition, Chen said Taiwan will use its robust capital market, high-quality manpower, innovative technology, strategic geographic location and administrative efficiency to turn Taiwan into an R&D and testing center in Asia and a regional sourcing and operations hub.
Before the curtain was raised on the largest investment promotion conference ever held in Taiwan, Chen said the confirmed and promised amount of new investments in Taiwan had already reached NT$138 billion, far exceeding the original target of NT$100 billion.
During the past two days, Chen said, 28 additional investment contracts have either been signed or confirmed, including contracts between Taiwan's state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) and America's Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. and Boeing Co.
Under those contracts, AIDC will collaborate with Bell in offering services in maintenance, remodeling and upgrading of military helicopters as well as in becoming a supplier of landing gear doors for Boeing's next-generation 737 airplanes. "These two contracts mark significant steps in the development of our aerospace industry," Chen said.
In addition, Chen said, one of the world's leading printing industry companies from Quebec, Canada will cooperate with local companies in building an Asia-Pacific media transmission and logistics center in Taoyuan County's Chungli industrial park in northern Taiwan.
The investment projects confirmed or signed during the business alliance conference cover a wide range of industries, including optoelectronics, aerospace, telecommunications, semiconductors, energy resources development, biotechnology, banking and insurance, and warehousing and distribution, Chen said. "These projects fully indicate the diversity and vibrancy of our economic structure and showcase the achievements of Taiwan's industrial transformation and upgrading in recent years," Chen said.
The conference also helped convince 15 world-class multinational groups, including Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Dell, IBM, Microsoft and Ericsson, to set up R&D and technical centers in Taiwan, Chen said, adding that their intentions affirm Taiwan's efforts to encourage innovation and research.
More important, Chen said, their actions signify their support and recognition of Taiwan's liberal, democratic and open society and lifestyle.
Chen said his administration will accelerate further reforms and market deregulation in response to the demand of foreign investors. "We'll speed up globalization under the principle of 'Invest in Taiwan, Access the World' to accelerate economic recovery and sustain growth," he added.
The business alliance conference has opened up the door for investment in Taiwan and has helped introduce Taiwan's political, economic and industrial achievements to the world.
For years, President Chen said the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Taipei, the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in Taipei have contributed much to promoting bilateral trade and economic relations. "They have not only offered valuable counseling to our administrative agencies but have also actively introduced our investment climate and opportunities to their business people, " Chen said, adding that the three organizations have become Taiwan's best partners in its pursuit of economic prosperity.
Chen said Taiwan has developed close production and distribution networks with nearly all world-renowned companies. In appreciation of their contributions to Taiwan's industrial development, Chen presented the "Best IPO Awards" to the top 10 foreign companies in terms of their accumulated procurement of Taiwan's information technology (IT) products over the past six years.
Foreign IT companies are expected to purchase US$48 billion worth of IT products from Taiwan this year, Chen said, adding that the top 10 firms will account for 80 percent of the amount.