Forum promotes Taiwanese investment in India

This article was written by Liu King-pong and published by the Taiwan Journal on September 14, 2007. It features a recent trade conference hosted by the Taiwan-India Cooperation Council in Taipei, with more than 150 Taiwanese companies participating. According to conference organizer, Taiwanese businesses are encouraged to take advantage of India's human resources and friendly environment so that both countries can further develop and benefit from already vigorous economic ties.

The India-Taipei Association (ITA) is India's representative office in Taiwan. It has the responsibility to strengthen economic, commercial, scientific, academic and cultural ties between India and Taiwan. According to ITA, India is an ideal place for Taiwanese companies, lage or small, to do business. The country has an ample, highly skilled and affordable labor force and a business environment that welcomes foreign investment. More importantly, as the second most populous nation on earth, India can easily become a growing market for the products and services of many prestigious Taiwanese multinational corporations and other enterprises.

"India strives to be a reliable partner in this bilateral relationship. The management expertise, tenacity and flexibility of Taiwanese companies, coupled with India's professional talents, skilled workers and ready market for innovative products and services, indicate that the bilateral relationship between Taiwan and India would undoubtedly be very promising in the foreseeable future," ITA officials said. "It's not a matter of whether Taiwanese companies will invest in India, but how and when they will do so. It is encouraging to see that Taiwanese businesses are currently exploring many aspects of doing business in India."

According to the Taiwan-India Cooperation Council, more than 2,000 Indian engineers and professionals are currently working in Taiwan. They have made great contributions to Taiwan's high-tech industry. While most Taiwanese corporations still consider China as their primary investment destination, India represents just as many opportunities for Taiwanese businesses to expand their global reach.

According to this article, economic relations between Taiwan and India have been on the rise since 2006, following the Taiwanese government's efforts to strengthen bilateral economic ties between the two countries. As of January 2007, bilateral trade between Taiwan and India had risen 112 percent over the same period when compared to the previous year.

At the aforementioned conference, representatives from the Confederation of Indian Industries in the province of Tamil Nadu gave a briefing on strategies for investing in India and the advantages and prospects for Taiwan-India economic, trade and industrial collaboration. According to the briefing, key sectors such as information and communication technology, liquid crystal display and semiconductors represent good opportunities for Taiwanese businesses that want to gain a foothold in India. Meanwhile, Taiwan's manufacturers of textiles, apparel, leather and footwear are encouraged to follow their high-tech cousin's lead and help foster a climate of investor confidence. For example, Taiwanese companies in the ICT sector have invested more than US$600 million in India so far, while the leather and footwear sector has pumped in more than US$127 million.

According to this article, Taiwanese companies are urged to make India an integral part of their human-resources planning and strategies, as India has a large pool of skilled yet affordable talent. More importantly, Taiwanese corporations need to focus on India's large domestic market.

According to a recent survey, over 69 percent of Taiwanese business respondents report that their investments in India have been more profitable than those they made elsewhere in the world.