MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Taiwan Firms Seek Opportunities in RI
Taiwan Firms Seek Opportunities in RI
26/09/2014 (Jakarta Post) - Taiwanese businesspeople and their Indonesian counterparts discussed on Thursday possibilities regarding long-term cooperation at a one-day exhibition organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in Jakarta.
The exhibition brought together more than 30 Taiwanese companies from the cosmetics and machinery sectors.
Dubbed the 2014 Taiwan Trade Mission, the exhibition was held to connect Taiwanese companies with potential Indonesian partners to exchange expertise and develop mutually profitable business opportunities.
Wayne Lee, manager of the Taiwan Trade Center in Jakarta, said Taiwanese and Indonesian businesspeople got the chance to share their views and information about their businesses through one-on-one meetings.
“However, I do not know whether it will proceed to further cooperation, because they are still discussing at this moment,” he said on the sidelines of the event on Thursday.
He said the prospective partners and company representatives would have private meetings at a later date if there were potential opportunities to discuss.
However, Lee did not reveal the targeted value from the exhibition as the event was mainly aimed at promoting Taiwanese products.
Lee said the Taiwanese companies mainly came from the cosmetics sector, which offers products for skin and hair treatments, as well as food supplements. Meanwhile, the companies from the machinery sector offered fastening tools and various hardware products.
Lee said an Indonesian pharmaceutical company was seeking a joint venture with a Taiwanese company that produced beauty products.
According to Lee, Indonesia was chosen for the exhibition because the country’s economy has improved quite a lot in the last few years. The situation had prompted much interest from Taiwanese companies in boosting their exports to Indonesia, he said.
Lee said the goods traded in the past between the two countries were mostly raw materials, including fuel, crude palm oil and steel. However, Taiwan recognized the high growth of Indonesia’s consumer market in recent years.
“That is why the organization is focusing on machinery and beauty products at this exhibition, even though trade value in those sectors is still small,” he said.
Lee said that TAITRA, a non-profit organization, was established by the Taiwanese government in 1970 to expand trade opportunities with other countries. Since then, the group has organized a number of trade missions to three or four countries.
Besides Indonesia, the organization, which has branches in 60 countries, also held similar trade exhibitions throughout 2014 in several countries in the Southeast Asian region, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
In Taiwan itself, the organization routinely holds exhibitions, including the Taipei International Information Technology Show (COMPUTEX Taipei), which is the second-largest computer trade show in the world, according to Lee.
Lee said further that Jakarta’s Taiwan Trade Center had started operations in 1996 as TAITRA’s branch in Indonesia, although it was temporarily closed in 2002 due to an economic downturn in Taiwan.
Cumulatively, the trade value between Indonesia and Taiwan reached US$5.66 billion in the first half of this year, a decrease of 6.88 percent from the same period last year.
In total, the two countries have posted cumulative investment worth $15.3 billion, as Taiwan is already one of Indonesia’s biggest foreign investors.
However, Indonesia does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan due to the One-China policy. China considers Taiwan a renegade province, while Taiwan claims to be an independent country.
The exhibition brought together more than 30 Taiwanese companies from the cosmetics and machinery sectors.
Dubbed the 2014 Taiwan Trade Mission, the exhibition was held to connect Taiwanese companies with potential Indonesian partners to exchange expertise and develop mutually profitable business opportunities.
Wayne Lee, manager of the Taiwan Trade Center in Jakarta, said Taiwanese and Indonesian businesspeople got the chance to share their views and information about their businesses through one-on-one meetings.
“However, I do not know whether it will proceed to further cooperation, because they are still discussing at this moment,” he said on the sidelines of the event on Thursday.
He said the prospective partners and company representatives would have private meetings at a later date if there were potential opportunities to discuss.
However, Lee did not reveal the targeted value from the exhibition as the event was mainly aimed at promoting Taiwanese products.
Lee said the Taiwanese companies mainly came from the cosmetics sector, which offers products for skin and hair treatments, as well as food supplements. Meanwhile, the companies from the machinery sector offered fastening tools and various hardware products.
Lee said an Indonesian pharmaceutical company was seeking a joint venture with a Taiwanese company that produced beauty products.
According to Lee, Indonesia was chosen for the exhibition because the country’s economy has improved quite a lot in the last few years. The situation had prompted much interest from Taiwanese companies in boosting their exports to Indonesia, he said.
Lee said the goods traded in the past between the two countries were mostly raw materials, including fuel, crude palm oil and steel. However, Taiwan recognized the high growth of Indonesia’s consumer market in recent years.
“That is why the organization is focusing on machinery and beauty products at this exhibition, even though trade value in those sectors is still small,” he said.
Lee said that TAITRA, a non-profit organization, was established by the Taiwanese government in 1970 to expand trade opportunities with other countries. Since then, the group has organized a number of trade missions to three or four countries.
Besides Indonesia, the organization, which has branches in 60 countries, also held similar trade exhibitions throughout 2014 in several countries in the Southeast Asian region, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
In Taiwan itself, the organization routinely holds exhibitions, including the Taipei International Information Technology Show (COMPUTEX Taipei), which is the second-largest computer trade show in the world, according to Lee.
Lee said further that Jakarta’s Taiwan Trade Center had started operations in 1996 as TAITRA’s branch in Indonesia, although it was temporarily closed in 2002 due to an economic downturn in Taiwan.
Cumulatively, the trade value between Indonesia and Taiwan reached US$5.66 billion in the first half of this year, a decrease of 6.88 percent from the same period last year.
In total, the two countries have posted cumulative investment worth $15.3 billion, as Taiwan is already one of Indonesia’s biggest foreign investors.
However, Indonesia does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan due to the One-China policy. China considers Taiwan a renegade province, while Taiwan claims to be an independent country.