Taiwan trade delegation to visit Cambodia, Myanmar

via Khmer NZ News Media

2010/06/20

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said Sunday it will lead a delegation to Cambodia and Myanmar June 27 to promote sales of machinery and equipment used in the production of footwear, plastic and rubber products.

The delegation will be headed by Wayne W. Wu, vice chairman of the semi-official TAITRA, on the mission to seek Taiwan's expansion into the two emerging markets.

In Myanmar, the delegation will visit raincoat manufacturer Tah Hsin Industrial Corp., one of the largest Taiwanese businesses in the country, to gain a better understanding of how to expand sales there, a TAITRA spokesman said.

In the absence of official trade relations between Taiwan and Cambodia, almost all Taiwanese entrepreneurs who have made investments there have done so through a third party, the spokesman said.

Because of the unstable political situation in both Cambodia and Myanmar, there are fewer Taiwanese businesses operating there than in many other Southeast Asian countries, according to the spokesman.

However, the TAITRA is optimistic about the business potential in the two countries, particularly at a time when the governments are seeking to develop their consumer products industry.

Against this backdrop, Taiwan's machinery equipment and parts suppliers stand a good chance of making inroads into the two emerging economies, the spokesman added.

According to a TAITRA report, there has been increasing demand in the two countries for equipment used in the packaging of food and agricultural products, and in the plastics, rubber, textile, footwear and woodworking industries.

Demand is also expected to grow in the areas of raw materials, auto parts, information and communication products and other consumer goods in the two countries, the spokesman said.

Therefore, the TAITRA decided to assist Taiwan factories to venture into the two markets, he added.

In Cambodia, the delegation will visit the Cambodian Investment Board and the Ministry of Commerce to promote bilateral trade and economic exchanges, according to the spokesman.

(By Lin Shu-yuan and Y.L. Kao) ENDITEM/ pc