• aluminum - A$486 million
• copper - A$281 million
• crude petroleum - A$507 million
• coal - A$854 million
• iron ore - A$363 million
• non-monetary gold - A$183 million
• wool - A$81 million
• meat - A$197 million

Meanwhile, Australia's key export opportunities to Taiwan exist for:

• food and beverages
• consumer products
• minerals and energy
• advanced technologies
• communication and information technology
• building materials and construction
• railways
• medical and health and personal care products
• other infrastructure development such as marinas and general engineering

Australia's major export destinations for the year ended march 2003 were:

• Japan, A$22,092 million
• USA, A$11,039 million
• Republic of Korea, A$9,679 million
• China, A$8,709 million
• New Zealand, A$8,002 million
• United Kingdom, A$6,946 million
• Singapore, A$4,826 million
• Taiwan, A$4,503 million

Please also see Figure 1 below:

Australia's merchandise exports to Taiwan always exceeds merchandise imports from Taiwan. However, according to data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), in the March quarter 2003, this surplus decreased A$88 million (33%), to A$181 million.

Taiwan's Economic and Financial Climate

The following analysis is conducted by Austrade: "With GDP exceeding US$297 billion in 2002 and foreign exchange reserves of over A$161 billion (third largest in the world), Taiwan's economic fundamentals remain sound. Taiwan is continuing to be a global force in the ICT sector, as Taiwanese ICT production exceeded A$80 billion and major OEM's announced the establishment of research and development (R&D) centers in Taiwan. Over 70 per cent of ICT companies in China have Taiwanese investment."

"The most significant economic event has been Taiwan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 2002 and 12 months on, WTO entry has seen Australia win a A$15 million contract for rice, its first in the market, and also a A$180 million contract for track work on the Taiwan High Speed Rail project. Further deregulation and internationalization of the ICT sector following WTO accession has seen the Taiwan Telecommunications Group invest A$15 million into Australia where they have established a regional headquarters as well as an R&D center."

"Taiwan's economic growth returned to a positive figure of 3.3 per cent in 2002 and in 2003 is expected to increase slightly to 3.4 per cent. In a difficult economic environment, Taiwan's exports grew by 6.3 per cent buoyed by better than expected ICT exports, particularly laptops and peripherals."

"Taiwan is continuing to liberalize its economy, opening up an increasing range of sectors to foreign participation. This is particularly the case in the ICT and financial services sectors where we have seen changes to foreign investment regulations, particularly in foreign ownership levels in both telecommunications and the banking sector."

"Greater economic links with mainland China have also been a feature in a post-WTO environment with Taiwanese trade with China up to US$10.64 billion in 2001. China is now Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner and cumulative investment in China now exceeds US$100 billion."

Taiwan's Trade Statistics

The following data is provided by Austrade: "The bulk of Taiwan's trade is with the USA (18.61 per cent), Japan (16.05 per cent), Hong Kong (13.42 per cent), China (7.13 per cent), and Korea (4.7 per cent). Leading Taiwan export items include computers, computer parts and telecommunications equipment."

Exporting Online

The following advice is given by Austrade: "Taiwan's well-developed infrastructure and its world-class technology sector, combined with an export-driven economy, make it an ideal location for the development of e-business. Total revenues from e-business are expected to jump from US$1.4 billion in 1999 to US$46.6 billion in 2004."

" Taiwan has a highly developed B2B system for its ICT sector and major Taiwanese conglomerates such as China Steel have now well developed e-purchasing platforms. CETRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council) has established a biz-exchange platform to link more than 20,000 Taiwanese exporters globally."

Taiwan's E-business infrastructure

The following information is provided by Austrade:

• Taiwan has an estimated 7.8 million Internet users, with an online penetration rate of 34 per cent.
• Some 44.3 per cent of all businesses in Taiwan are now connected to the Internet.
• There are more than 100 officially registered Internet service providers (ISPs) in Taiwan.
• The ISPs Seednet, Chunghwa Telecom's Hinet and Hitron have a combined market share of 75 per cent.
• ADSL services are now available to 99 per cent of all households with over one million subscribers (2001).
• An e-government program will see all Taiwan Government services online by the end of 2003 with more than 1500 Internet based services in four years.
• The establishment of a Government Root Certification Authority in October 2002 has seen more than 400,000 digital subscribers to digital certificate services.