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REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES OF EU AND MEMBER STATES IN TAIPEI

Submitted by christian on Sat, 01/11/2020 - 14:40
  1. Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office, Taipei (LTIOT): Established in 2010 in Taipei, the main mission of Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office is twofold: to help Taiwanese companies with their business expansion to Luxembourg and their entry to the European markets and to facilitate trade between Luxembourg and Taiwan and support Luxembourg-based companies in the establishment and development of their activities on the Taiwanese market. LTIOT offers personalized services and advices on the business environment, market entry conditions and provide contacts with local authorities. Together with the other fifteen European representation offices in Taiwan, LTIOT helps to promote European standards and to strengthen the bilateral trade relations between the EU and Taiwan.
  2. European Economic and Trade Office (EETO): The European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) is the representative office of the European Union (EU) in Taiwan. The European Union does not recognize the Republic of China and only maintains informal relations with it.
  3. European Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (ECCT): With over US$50 billion in direct foreign investments, European businesses are collectively the largest group of foreign investors in Taiwan. The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan is the only foreign nationwide business chamber in Taiwan and the principal organization promoting European business interests in Taiwan. The chamber represents over 900 members from 400 companies and organizations. Through a network of 30 industry and support committees, the ECCT has been successful in addressing specific concerns and providing concrete recommendations to all levels of government to facilitate improving the business environment. The ECCT annually publishes a series of position papers that comprise issues identified by its committees as hindering the further development of their respective industries and provide recommendations to the government of Taiwan for improvement of the business environment on general issues as well as industry-specific problems. They also serve to keep the European Commission and parliament as well as the governments of individual European countries informed about Taiwan’s business environment.
  4. Austrian Office, Taipei (AOT) : Taiwan is Austria’s 4th biggest trading partner in the Far East region (2018), with Austrian exports to Taiwan amounting to half a billion Euro (+30%) and Austrian imports of €750 million (+9.8%). The “Austrian Commercial Office” in Taipei is part of the global network of offices of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, in charge of Austria’s ‘economic diplomacy’ worldwide, representing & servicing all of Austria’s >500,000 businesses. The “Austrian Commercial Office” links up potential business partners and establishes trade relations between Austrian and Taiwanese companies, helps Austrian businesses venture on to the Taiwanese market or establish local subsidiaries. The office organizes conferences, exhibitions, delegation visits, B2B networking events and carries out ‘tailor-made’ projects for its Austrian member companies. With its long-standing expertise and global network, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber’s Taipei office is the KEY DRIVER in enhancing bilateral trade & economic ties between Austria and Taiwan.
  5. Belgian Office, Taipei (BOT): With its open and export-oriented economy, Belgium has dynamic and constantly growing trade relations with Taiwan. Belgium is currently Taiwan’s 6th European trade partner and total trade flows have exceeded €2bn for the past two years. Chemicals, machinery and equipment are traditionally the leading exported and imported products between the two partners. Belgium is represented in Taiwan by the Belgian Office Taipei (BOT), which brings together the federal and regional institutions (FIT, AWEX and hub.brussels) under one roof. The office’s main trade-related actions for 2019 were  the promotion and support to Belgium’s offshore wind industry, food & beverage, ICT, biotech, pharma and life science through targeted actions, missions and the participation in fairs and trade shows.
  6. British Trade and Cultural Office, Taipei (BTCOT): UK/Taiwan bilateral trade in goods and services increased to £6.1bn in the year to Q3 2018 (up 5.2%). Top UK goods exports were whisky, pharmaceutical products and vehicles, while top imports from Taiwan were electrical machinery, mechanical appliances and bicycles. In 2018, UK investment in Taiwan was £468m; Taiwanese investment in the UK was £53m.
  7. Czech Economic and Cultural Office, Taipei (CECOT): Being a new engine of global growth, Asia is the second largest trading partner of the Czech Republic accounting for 14% of its total trade. Consequently, the economic strategy of the Czech Republic puts great emphasis on further strengthening its economic ties with Asian partners, including Taiwan. A long-term economic cooperation resulted in significant Taiwanese investments in the Czech Republic, while the Czech export to Taiwan is narrowed down to vehicles and its parts with the consequent negative balance in its trade relations. Therefore, the Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (CECOT) has been continuously enhancing economic cooperation with Taiwanese partners through various activities. Over the past few years, CECOT has organized several trade fairs, seminars on investment climate in the Czech Republic, delegations to / from the Czech Republic / Taiwan varying from ICT, aerospace, railway industry to R&D or cultural creative industries. CECOT supported the Czech participation at the Smart City Summit & Expo, and is planning to organise, for example B2B matchmaking for Czech and Taiwanese travel agencies or investment seminar for potential Taiwanese investor.
  8. Trade Commission of Denmark, Taipei (TCDT): In 2019 Denmark and Taiwan continue to enjoy a growing volume of trade as well as economic interactions. The increased growth is driven by the renewable energy sector, improved water management solutions and upgrading of agricultural production. Taiwan’s ambitious plans for the development of offshore wind energy in Taiwan has attracted not only two Danish developers but also a plethora of companies from the value chain of offshore wind in Denmark. In addition, the growing demand for more efficient and environmentally friendly agriculture continues to be an area where Danish technology companies from the pig farming sector enjoy collaboration and exchanges with Taiwan. The top three export categories from Denmark to Taiwan in 2018 were 1) Food and live animals (28%), 2) Chemicals and chemical products (30%) and 3) Machines and transportation vehicles (28%).
  9. Finland Trade Center, Taipei (FTCT): The roots of Finland Trade Center date back to 1991 when Finnish Foreign Trade Association and a group of Finnish companies established the Office of Finnish Industry and Trade in Taiwan. Today, Finland Trade Center is a part of Business Finland network, which supports Finnish companies to go global as well as funding companies’ innovation projects. The value of bilateral trade between Finland and Taiwan reached around 570 million euros in 2018. Exports from Finland to Taiwan grew by 27% from 2017. Recently, the main areas of promotion activities have been centered around sustainable energy and education.
  10. French Institute in Taipei (FIT): France and Taiwan maintain a strong and diversified economic relationship with a total bilateral trade of €4.7bn in 2018. Through working groups, France and Taiwan have been able to reinforce their cooperation among many sectors, including renewable energy, power distribution, aeronautics and electronics. Apart from aeronautics, which is still the top sector in terms of French exports to Taiwan, Taiwan is also a significant market for the French luxury industry, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products which satisfy a growing demand for high quality products. France is historically the leading foreign player in retail industries in Taiwan. Since November 2016, the economic relationship between France and Taiwan has also relied on a dynamic French Tech Community with an ecosystem consisting of more than 300 French and Taiwanese experts today. In 2019, this French Tech Community launched an “Open Innovation Club” aimed at reinforcing cooperation between start-ups and big groups from both sides and at providing innovative solutions. France is also a strategic partner of Taiwan’s “5 + 2 modernization program” through partnerships between French and Taiwanese counterparts in smart industry, green finance, IOT and ICT.
  11. German Institute, Taipei (GIT): Germany is Taiwan’s most important trading partner in the European Union and Taiwan is Germany’s 5th largest trading partner in Asia with total trade amounting to €18.1bn. Overall, Germany is Taiwan’s No. 10 export destination and No. 5 origin of imports. Trade is not just about cars, household appliances and foodstuff, German and Taiwanese companies have been successfully cooperating in many sectors, especially the machine tool industry with a recent focus on Industrie 4.0, digitisation, industrial IoT and AI. While German companies have already been providing energy for Taiwan for decades, they are also deeply involved in Taiwan’s transition to green energy: developing and operating onshore windfarms with German turbines, and most recently, German offshore developers and offshore turbine suppliers developing wind parks off Taiwan’s west coast with further German suppliers and service providers actively engaged in the market. Therefore, Germany is Taiwan’s 3rd largest foreign investor, with major companies running regional R&D centres or having recently opened their Asia-Pacific headquarter in Taiwan.
  12. Hungarian Trade Office, Taipei (HTOT): The Hungarian Trade Office was opened in 1998 in Taipei to promote economic, cultural, scientific, educational and tourism relations between Hungary and Taiwan. It also provides general consular services. In 2018, Taiwan was the sixth largest Asian export market for Hungary. Mainly machinery, cars and quality agricultural products were exported at a total value of US$ 292 million (Taiwan statistics). Taiwanese companies are actively interested in investing in Hungary, and the Hungarian Trade Office assists them by representing the government’s investment agency and providing essential information. Taiwanese passport holders can visit Hungary visa-free for 90 days. A Working Holiday Scheme agreement provides young adults the opportunity to visit, study or work in Hungary for an extended term. The Hungarian Trade Office continuously works together with Hungarian and Taiwanese businesses and institutions to promote trade, investment, friendship and culture, in order to further enhance relations.
  13. Italian Economic, Commercial & Cultural Promotion Office, Taipei (IECCPOT): For 25 years the Italian Economic, Commercial and Cultural Promotion Office (IECCPOT) has been representing Italy’s interest in Taiwan and providing consular assistance to the over 600 Italian nationals living in Taiwan. In conjunction with the Italian Trade Commission (ICE Agenzia), IECCPOT operates in promoting growing access of Italian products to Taiwan’s market. In 2018 important progress has been made in this area thanks to Taiwanese decision to grant market access to Italian pork meat products. Bilateral trade between Italy and Taiwan is robust totaling €4.4bn in 2018 (+5% year-on-year). IECCPOT also promotes people-to-people interaction which is showing positive trends particularly in the sector of tourism with over 200,000 Taiwanese presences in Italy in 2018 thanks also to the developing of flights between Italy and Taiwan.
  14. Netherlands Trade and Investment Office, Taipei (NTIOT): The Netherlands and Taiwan are strong trading partners with almost US$10bn in bilateral trade in 2018. Taiwan shares important economic similarities with the Netherlands and is therefore a natural economic partner. Taiwan is like the Netherlands a developed open economy heavily dependent on international trade. Due to Taiwan’s welcoming business environment with strong IP protection, Taiwan serves as a hub for Dutch companies to do business in Asia. In recent years there has been a large increase in delegations from the Netherlands visiting Taiwan and vice versa. Especially trade delegations in innovative areas such as circular economy, smart cities, offshore wind, photonics, cybersecurity and semiconductors. These visits have resulted in even closer economic ties and new projects for Dutch companies. For example, the Taipei Twin Towers by Dutch architects MVRDV, which will be the new architectural landmark of Taipei city just next to Taipei main station.
  15. Slovak Economic and Cultural Office, Taipei (SECOT): Taiwan, 2nd largest East Asian investor in Slovakia (after South Korea and before Japan), with well known companies enjoying Slovak economic environment for more than 15 years – Delta Group, HonHai (Foxconn) Group, AU Optronics and others, active mostly in electrotechnical and automotive industries. In March 2019, Slovakia and Taiwan signed the Memorandum of Cooperation (at the level of both offices in Taipei and Bratislava) on economic cooperation. The MoU aims to strengthen economic ties and enlarge the scope of cooperation. There is already a sound academia exchanges under the umbrella of Agreement on scientific cooperation. The cooperation goes in recent time well beyond traditional economic areas. There is a lot of perspective in the fields of blockchain, cybersecurity and other hi-tech areas will follow soon.
  16. Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Taipei (SCCT): The main drivers of the bilateral activity between Taiwan and Spain in the recent years have been technology and science, intellectual property, investment promotion and bilateral contacts between business organisations. On the field of technology and science, there is a number of cooperation schemes that have allowed for a growing number of research and development projects to be jointly financed. There is an agreement for cooperation in Intellectual Property and effective cooperation for protection of trademarks and patents. Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Taipei supports bilateral trade and economic cooperation, especially as referred to export of Spanish goods and services to Taiwan, investment and industrial agreements. SCCT organises trade missions, participation in fairs, provides information and advice to Spanish companies entering the market. Other relevant sectors of bilateral activity have been renewable energies, agrifood, consumer products, chemical products and machinery?
  17. Swedish Trade Council, Taipei Office (STCTO) : The Swedish Trade and Invest Council, Business Sweden, has been present in Taiwan since 1992. Swedish companies have an even longer history in Taiwan reaching back to the fifties, like Ericsson and Atlas Copco. Since then we have seen the arrival of strong brands spanning from Volvo, AstraZeneca and Scania to, IKEA, Electrolux, H&M, Spotify and many many more. Approximately 250 Swedish students study in Taiwan and an equal amount of Taiwanese students study in Sweden. This is a great opportunity for Swedish and Taiwanese companies who want to expand in the respective economies. There is a growing number of Swedish companies establishing operations in Taiwan in all sectors and Taiwanese investors are increasingly turning to Sweden. Sweden spends approximately 3,3 % of GDP on R&D and scores high in international rankings like being fourth in Global Innovation Index 2018 and Stockholm ranks fourth in the Best Startup cities in the World in 2019.
  18. Polish Investment and Trade Agency Office, Taipei (PITAOT): In 2018 Poland opened the Polish Investment and Trade Agency office in Taipei to promote bilateral trade relations and attract high-quality investments. The increased Polish presence in Taiwan quickly bore fruit as a major automotive player from Taiwan –Iron Force Industrial Co. – decided to invest €20 million in Poland. The intensive trade cooperation brought even more fruit, also literally, as in 2018 Taiwan opened its market for the import of Polish fresh apples and re-open its market for the import of Polish poultry following the continuing presence of the Polish food companies at the Taipei International Food Show. Also Polish start-ups were actively participating in the major trade shows in Taiwan, such as Smart Cities Summit and Expo, Computex/Innovex and Fintech Taipei, forging close ties with the Taiwan leading Fintech, IT, IoT and smart cities companies. Other relevant sectors of bilateral activity have been renewable energies, agrifood, consumer products, chemical products and machinery.

 

 

 

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REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES OF EU AND MEMBER STATES IN TAIPEI

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