TRAIN TO TAIWAN - BUSINESS, BOLLYWOOD, BUDDHISM
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
Self-ruled island looks afresh at India as a rising Asian power, writes Manish Chand
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
Monday, June 7, 2010
The three Bs of business, Bollywood and Buddhism are set to bring
India and Taiwan closer as the self-ruled island nation -- encouraged
by the thaw with China -- looks afresh at India as a rising Asian
power and burgeoning market.
"Taiwan can't put all the eggs in one basket. We are now reaching out
to rising Asian powers like India so that we can establish Taiwan as
Asia's logistics centre," Mr Francis Kuo-Hsin Liang, Vice Minister of
Economic Affairs, said in an interview in the skyscraper-specked
Taiwanese capital that boasts of the world's second tallest building,
Tower 101.
Riding on two years of thaw with mainland China, a signature
initiative of President Ma Ying-jieou, Taipei is now readying to sign
a landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement next month with
Beijing that could act as a precursor to similar trade pacts with
other countries.
"Improving relations with China and stabilised regional situation
will encourage emerging powers like India to be more willing and
cooperate with Taiwan," he stressed.
India, which did not loom high on Taipei's horizon during its Asian
Tiger days in the 1990s, is now a focus country as the Indian economy
continues to grow at over seven per cent in times of global meltdown.
Although India officially follows one-China policy, this has not
deterred Taiwan -- the world's 17th largest economy, a manufacturing
hub of iPods and the world's top producer of PC notebooks -- from
setting an ambitious target to scale up its bilateral trade from the
current $ 6 billion to $ 10 billion in the next five years.
Only 23 countries recognise Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that split
from mainland China in 1947, and lost its UN seat to Beijing in 1971.
"India accounts for less than one per cent of our total trade," Mr
Liang said alluding to plans to expand trade and investment in areas
ranging from IT hardware, electronics, machinery and agri-tech and
food processing industries.
Compared to that, China's trade with the self-ruled island has
crossed $ 160 billion. Taiwan has invested $ 150 billion in China
since the 1990s.
"That's why this year we have targeted a few emerging markets like
India and Indonesia for promoting trade and industry. Our industry is
very excited about the potential of the Indian market."
"Corporates, think-tanks, and academia are now closely evaluating
emerging markets like India," said Mr David S Hong, president of the
Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, an influential think-tank.
Top Taiwanese companies like HTC, Acer, BenQ and CEC are already
thriving in India. The Delhi Metro is linked to Japan in people's
minds in India, but not many know that CEC is one of the co-
projectors of the Metro.
- The writer is associated with IANS.
http://dailypioneer.com/260825/Train-to-Taiwan-Business-Bollywood-Buddhism.html
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