Mumbai: India can be a trusted supply chain partner of Taiwan, which leads in hi-tech manufacturing in the Asian region, remarked Edison Hsu, Director, Taipei World Trade Center Liaison Office in Mumbai at an interactive meeting organized for an in-bound Taiwan Trade Mission at WTC Mumbai.
Notably, India ranks as Taiwan’s 14th largest export destination and 18th largest source of imports. Bilateral trade between the two countries totaled US$8.45 billion in 2022, representing an increase of 9.8% over the previous year. In 2022, India’s exports to Taiwan amounted to US$3.14 billion, consisting of mineral fuels, aluminum, iron, steel, organic chemicals, plastics, and articles thereof, while Taiwan’s exports to India amounted to US$5.31 billion, consisting mainly of primarily of plastics, electronic integrated circuits, organic chemicals, electrical machinery, iron, and steel.
“The time has come for India and Taiwan to reimagine their economic relationship. Both the countries can be reliable trade partners at a time when the global supply chain faced a series of shocks right from pandemic to Russia-Ukraine war and the prolonged lockdown in China. I invite Indian companies to participate at the Taiwan Expo, which is scheduled from October 5 to 7, 2023 at Mumbai. More than 50 Taiwanese firms will be actively exploring new supply chain partners from India at the Expo and this opens a promising window to strengthen bilateral commercial relationship,” said Hsu.
The incoming Taiwan Trade Mission was hosted jointly by World Trade Center Mumbai and All India Association of Industries (AIAI).
The event was also addressed by Christian Li, Senior Specialist, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Taiwan. The interactive meeting was followed by B2B networking session between the Taiwanese business delegates and their Indian counterparts. The members of the delegation represent strategic sectors such as electronic components, medical devices, electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems, which are the focus sectors of India’s Production Linked Incentives (PLI) schemes.
At a time when India is aspiring to gain foothold in semiconductor manufacturing, Taiwan can be a potential partner for India in this area. The delegation members also represent industrial machineries, CCTV & surveillance, locks, surface treatment technology, smart home devices and other high-tech products.
Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai, said in a statement, “Today, bilateral trade has touched USD 10 billion mark and Taiwan is the 31st largest trade partner of India, with potential to be the 10th largest in the next few years. I am sure this meeting will lead to fruitful outcome in the form of increase in trade, technology exchange, joint-venture and investment between both the sides. Taiwanese firms can consider Maharashtra as the gateway to their entry into the Indian market as it is the most progressive state. Both the countries have huge scope for collaboration in semiconductor, printed circuit boards, white goods, medical devices and so on.”
He suggested Taiwanese companies to consider India and especially Maharashtra as a promising investment destination as it has abundant skilled workers. He pointed out that AIAI has been working closely with TAITRA to promote bilateral trade through exhibitions and trade missions as early as 1987-88 and AIAI was one of the first Indian associations to envision a strong business partnership with Taiwan, when Indian industry was not convinced about the scope for bilateral economic collaboration.
Rupa Naik, Executive Director-WTC Mumbai, said, “WTC Mumbai is the first WTC in India established in 1970 to fulfil the vision of Bharat Ratna Sir Dr. M Visvesvaraya who dreamt of a world-class trade promotion organisation in the commercial capital of India. Today, the Center offers multi-dimensional trade support services through its world-class trade facilities, trade education programs, research and trade promotion initiatives.”
