Taipei, Nov. 3 (CNA) Taiwan's competitiveness and efforts to enhance its globalization are internationally recognized, Vice President Annette Lu said Monday while addressing an international symposium on innovative science and technology.
Taiwan's globalization status is clearly reflected in steadily rising ratings made public by international economic organizations in recent years, Lu said. "Taiwan's economic performance and efficiency has been highly valued by major international economic organizations, " Lu said, citing as an example the 2003 Global Competitiveness Report, released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in October, that rates Taiwan's growth competitiveness as the third-best in the world.
Taiwan is also ranked in the WEF report the fifth most-competitive economy of 102 countries, outperforming all Asian countries and most of the leading economies in the West. Taiwan's high placement on the list is mainly because of its highly developed hi-tech industry, Lu added.
Noting that Taiwan has been the leading producer in the world in seven categories of products since 1997, Lu said the country's No. 1 ranking extended to 17 categories of products by 2002. Among the products, Taiwan's production of computer motherboards constituted 75 percent of the overall production of the world, while the output of notebook computers and LED monitors commanded 61 percent of world production, she added.
She stated that the Oct. 19-22 2003 Taiwan Business Alliance Conference -- the largest-ever investment promotion event held in Taiwan and part of the government's efforts to attract investments to upgrade Taiwan's competitiveness in the era of globalization -- also showcased the world's recognition of Taiwan as a capable player in the world economy.
In addition to securing investment projects worth over NT$130 billion (US$3.83 billion) , promises were made at the conference by leading companies around the world to establish their R & D centers or Asia-Pacific business operations hubs in Taiwan, Lu said.