Electric vehicles and information and communication technologies fields are hot, attracting hundreds of foreign buyers to Taiwan for negotiation

The “Resilience Taiwan: Building a Resilient Supply Chain Conference”, guided by the Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA, and executed by TAITRA, was held at the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC) on November 24. This was also the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic that a large-scale business event for foreign buyers to come to Taiwan was held. 270 international businessmen from nearly 40 countries had 1,700 meetings with 500 Taiwanese enterprises; 110 of them came physically to Taiwan, and other 160 talked through the video calls.

The event also hosted a “Leaders’ Dialogue”,  for trade unions of  foreign companies in our country, and invited senior managers of the business associations from five countries that have recently benefited from the supply chain to analyze the trend of development of the supply chain, and Taiwan’s opportunities in it.

Guann-Jyh Lee, the deputy director general of the organizer, the Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA, pointed out that Taiwan has experience in international cooperation in the fields of intelligent machinery, electric vehicles, and luxury bicycles, and is able to work with international business partners to enhance industrial competitiveness and create post-pandemic business opportunities. President & CEO of TAITRA, Simon Wang, mentioned that Taiwan has the capability of a complete supply chain, to be the best partner for global cooperation as it has the ability to react and respond with unlimited resources when faced with the risk impact.

Diversified purchases made by the buyers from beneficiary countries aware of supply chain shifts

After international situations like the US-China Economic Confrontation, COVID-19, and the Russo-Ukrainian War, foreign buyers are actively working with partners who share the same vision to build a resilient and sustainable supply chain partnership. This trend can be seen in the past two years in online seminars, and many foreign businessmen come to Taiwan with the same goal and expectation.

Buyers from Brazil, India, and Vietnam were the most numerous, with purchases covering information and communication technology, electric vehicles and charging equipment, machinery and intelligent manufacturing, textiles, rubber and plastic products such as auto parts and packaging materials, consumer products, etc. The demand for information and communication technology products was especially high. For example, India’s largest Civilian-run enterprise group, RELIANCE, was looking for a smart home supplier. SAMCO, a well-known Saigon transportation mechanical corporation in Vietnam; EKA, an electric bus start-up that has recently expanded rapidly in Mumbai, India; and MICROBIRD, one of the top three electric bus manufacturers in Canada, all proposed partnerships for electric bus parts and charging systems.

GODREJ & BOYCE, a subsidiary of GODREJ Group, which provides high quality industrial products and services to consumers in India and around the world, also came to Taiwan to purchase building materials, furniture, hardware, and security control equipment.

Most of the machine buyers were agents specializing in world-renowned machine tool brands, including 19 purchasing representatives such as ICHI SEIKI(Singapore), NEOTECH(Italy), ESHIMTECH, iKota, and AT-PLUS(Korea). iKota and AT-PLUS, from Korea, mainly serves Samsung, Hyundai, KIA and other companies, and this time, they targeted stamping press machines. Chin Fong Machine Industrial Co., Ltd., a well-known stamping press company in our country, said that it will provide quotations according to the demand of Korean companies as soon as possible, and it was also very happy to develop potential buyers through this event. NEOTECH, which has a local showroom in Italy, focused on 5-axis machine tools, and the major axis’s, index plates, tool magazines, and other related parts. The buyer was very impressed with Providence Technology Co., LTD.’s expertise in Composite Machining Centers, and wanted to get the quotations immediately to evaluate the possibility of a follow-on agency. On the other hand, Providence Technology Co., LTD. mentioned that the buyer’s requirements were clear, and they had the capabilities to meet the buyer’s needs, making NEOTECH a suitable buyer, and they were looking forward to cooperating with them in the future.

Domestic networking communication companies have been developing LEO-related products recently, focusing on B2B ground receivers and home-use devices, with software to connect to satellite services. In addition to the existing household, industrial, and commercial ground receivers, the companies are also looking forward to the development of car receivers. In addition, many of the buyers at the event were from India, which is a potential market for the company. The company said it hopes to enter the local low altitude satellite operation supply chain in India through the fair, except for the antenna terminal, printed circuit board (PCB), WiFi router, and other ground equipment, the company also hopes to extend to the network connection to the client CPE (Customer Premise Equipment).

Our low altitude satellites have been developed in cooperation with U.S. companies. Since the process of satellite technology development requires a high degree of investment in several professions, direct links to overseas start-up companies can be made, through investments, to effectively assist Taiwanese companies in obtaining orders in the space supply chain, of which the buyers in this fair are one of them.

Furthermore, the Global Resilient Supply Chain invited 24 automotive parts, bus, and energy companies from 17 countries around the world to join the event in Taiwan or online. According to a Market and Markets study, global electric bus sales reached a total of 137,000 units in 2020, and will reach 575,000 units by 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of 33%. Taiwan’s leading players in the field of electric bus and charging solutions, such as Master Transportation Bus Manufacturing Ltd., RAC Electric Vehicles Inc., Tron Energy Technology Corporation, Tangeng Advanced Vehicles Co., Ltd., Delta Electronics, Inc., Zerova Technologies Taiwan Limited (a subsidiary of Phihong Technology Co., Ltd.), and eTreego Co., Ltd., also participated in the negotiations in response to buyers’ requirements.

Metaverse Becomes Hot Trend, Matchmaking Digital Content Partners

Additionally, buyers from 9 countries, including the UK, Japan, Korea, Poland, Bulgaria, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, were invited to participate in the hot topic of “Metaverse”. Among them, Thai company, TREE ROOTS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, has developed various contents and digital platforms through innovative contents and technological breakthroughs, expecting to find animation and comic digital content partners in Taiwan through the event, for projects such as movies, animated short films, and role-playing games.

Bulgarian company CLOUDWEB specializes in cloud infrastructure and solutions, and provides privacy and security services on the blockchain, and is seeking for Taiwan software technology partners. Also, BRAINWARE, a leading Bulgarian company in the field of ICT technology for education, was looking for Taiwanese game developers. There were also other buyers including CENEGA S.A., the largest publisher of electronic games and gaming merchandises in Poland. And CJ ENM, the largest content provider in Korea, was interested in purchasing the rights to broadcast historical dramas, documentaries, movies and modern dramas. Totally 20 buyers arranged 89 matchmaking meetings with 33 Taiwanese companies.

Many foreign buyers who came to Taiwan expressed high interest in the blockchain game field, whether game content developers, blockchain technology providers, XR operators, or system integrators, all were the aggressive targets of their inquiries. The Thai buyer of the cryptocurrency exchanges, for example, operates a diversified metaverse economy, and blockchain games will be the main items of their future operations. They were impressed by the delicacy and storytelling of Taiwan’s games and animations, and look forward to cooperating with them in the future.

The Next Generation Avatar Video Conference,  to Capture Business Opportunities from Heavyweight Buyers

Taiwantrade also introduced high-tech elements, and held a video conference simultaneously, with over 50 international buyers from 18 countries, including the United States, Canada, the UK, Japan, Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia, participating. With the two main themes of “Next Generation Avatar Video Conference” and “The New Avatar VR Industrial Center”, the event provided business opportunities for Taiwantrade’s corporate members from all industries, and offered an innovative online exhibition and business experience for international buyers.

The buyers of the products include NITORI TAIWAN CO., LTD (Taiwan branch of Nitori Group), which is familiar to the people of Taiwan. They hoped to negotiate with the Taiwanese companies on products such as lightweight-agricultural ladders, eco-friendly business bags, black beetle intelligent helmets, and heat-resistant ceramic frying pans. Pentair, a U.S.-based multinational group that manufactures professional water treatment equipment, was looking for Taiwanese PVC pressure pipe connectors companies to work with. There were also a number of buyers interested in negotiating with Taiwanese owners on products including auto parts, circular economy, and consumer electronics, and nearly 100 video conferences were held with 85 Taiwanese companies.

Taiwantrade is a B2B e-commerce platform for global, all-industry marketing. It has successfully introduced next-generation Avatar video conferencing, providing an extra tool for Taiwan companies’ digital marketing. In the next year, it will be upgraded to combine artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin technologies, allowing companies to make their own Avatars, introduce their products or companies on Taiwantrade’s corporate website, and display their products in the VR industrial center, helping companies to gradually implement international marketing and product presentation in the metaverse.

Leaders' Dialogue on the Trend of Regional Supply Chain Development and Opportunities in Taiwan

The “Resilience Taiwan: Building a Resilient Supply Chain Conference,” was hosted by Elina H. L. Lee, Executive VP of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), which invited Mr. Arun Chawla, President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Dr. Resdiansyah, Vice President of the Intelligent Transportation Society of Indonesia, Mr. Tran Thi Lan Anh, Secretary General of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Andrzej Arendarski, President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce, and other foreign business leaders to participate in the event in person. Mr. Mark Baxa, President & CEO of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), attended by video conference with YU, WEN-KUANG, Executive Supervisor of Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association, to share the latest trends of supply chain migration, analyze the trend of regional supply chain development, and discuss business opportunities for future cooperation with Taiwan industries.

Mr. Arun Chawla mentioned that there are three major trends in the world: digitalization, sustainability, and digital capability, and the use of AI technology can enhance the rapid development of related industries. Dr. Resdiansyah shared that Indonesia is building industrial IoT and big data to make transportation and logistics more efficient. Therefore, we need to use the new technologies to integrate into an intelligent supply chain in the future. Ms. Tran Thi Lan Anh said that the current international situation is both a risk and an opportunity to improve our competitiveness. Mr. Andrzej Arendarski explained that when facing political and economic risks, companies need to build flexible cooperation strategies and find countries with the same values to become trustworthy partners. And, Mr. Mark Baxa mentioned that maintaining supply chain resilience is not an easy task. The key is to build international strategic cooperation and trusted relationships. YU, WEN-KUANG believes that understanding the local culture and industry background is the key to success in overseas markets.

TAITRA emphasized that the “Global Digital Economy New Business Model Trend Forum & Market Research Presentation” will be held on November 25, 2022, inviting Aviv Doron, Director of Israel Economic and Trade Office in Taipei; David HONG, General Manager of Plug and Play Taiwan of Plug and Play Tech Center from Silicon Valley, USA; Eleni LUNG, General Manager of ShopBack Taiwan, a cash-guided e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia; Dr. Shang-Pwu Shia, Senior Advisor of Tiger Accelerator; Mr. Yaron Carni, founder of Maverick Ventures, an Israeli venture capital fund; and Ms. Akvile Dobromilskyte, Manager of Startup Lithuania, a Lithuanian start-up coaching institution. A total of 6 industry experts were invited to discuss the trends and opportunities of the global digital economy and new business models. In the second half of the session, the results of the “Global Digital Economy New Business Model Market Research Series” were presented for five cases in the US, Europe, ASEAN, South Asia, and Middle East markets, to help our enterprises grasp the latest global digital economy trends and business models.

Source: Commercial Times