The India-Taiwan relationship will benefit a lot with direct flights between the two countries, believes Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre Representative, Wenchyi Ong.

This will not only enhance trade and investments between the two countries, it will also build the people-to-people interface. He is right; in order to have long standing sustainable relations, it is more important to have good interpersonal relations that are built on trust.

In this count, India and Taiwan seem to be heading the right way taking into consideration several new joint projects. The partners are expected to increase bilateral trade to the tune of $10 billion by 2015, leveraging capabilities in food processing, information and communication technology and electrical engineering collaborations. Bilateral trade will reach $6 billion in 2010 itself.

India-Taiwan Links
Indo-Taiwan cooperation dates back to 1973 when Taiwan bought 132 train coaches from India, 38 of which are still running, according to Director-General Frank Fan of the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA).

At an exhibition showcasing the Indian railway system held at the Taipei Train Station, Fan said that the coaches from India, upholstered in blue leather, are “important relics” in Taiwan’s railway history. Taiwan bought coaches from India in the past and now it is constructing railway projects in India.

The information and communication technology, or ICT sector, is served by huge Taiwanese investments in India. ICT companies like Benq, Acer, DLink and Transcend have been operating from India for the past 10 years, having invested about $1 billion in India.

Collaborative projects include building information technology industrial parks in India, promoting Indian participation in Taiwan’s special economic zones as well as developing IT products and conducting R&D training.

The Taiwan-based Institute for Information Industry (III) joins India’s Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT) to develop 4G broadband wireless technologies and products. The MOU allows Taiwanese customer premises equipment manufacturers to transform into core network equipment suppliers.

C.K. Lee, chief executive officer of the III said in a release, “With fast-growing India expected to become one of the largest 3G and 4G markets in the world, the proposed R&D cooperation is expected to assist Taiwanese manufacturers to step into the giant market early.” This statement which was echoed by Bhaskar Ramamurthi, honorary director of CEWIT, said that this project will hasten India’s 4G deployment.

Relations between the two countries have always been in the right direction. This was further bolstered during President Ma Ying-jeou’s visit to India in March 2008 even before becoming president of the Republic of China, or Taiwan. He envisioned fruitful relations by synergizing Taiwan’s ICT expertise with Indian software capabilities.

The initiation of annual trade talks in 1992, exchange of trade offices in 1995 and signing of the Investment Protection Agreement in 2002 have served well in enhancing Taiwan-India trade relations. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry reveals that Taiwan-India trade peaked to $5.34 billion in 2008, which is an increase of 9.5 percent over 2007.

Hsu Chun-fang, deputy director-general of the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, expressed that the bilateral relationship between Taiwan and India has been upward since 1990 following the efforts of both nations in expanding trade and investment in the fields of energy, electronics, IT and telecommunications.

TAITRA - Taiwan Excellence Campaign 2010
TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council), a non- profit trade promotion organization under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, launched a campaign to increase growth and visibility of Taiwanese ICT brands in India and leverage India’s huge demand for ICT and consumer lifestyle products.

TAITRA has been organising Emma Expo India since 2007 to bolster Indo- Taiwan business ties and promote greater industry interaction and technology transfer and investment opportunities.

Taiwanese companies Asus, a multinational computer product manufacturer; BenQ, an innovator of digital lifestyle; D-Link, specializing in connectivity solutions; MSI, a provider of consumer products; ADATA, a memory solutions provider and many others were showcased at the event.

The growing Internet user base is expected to reach 200 million by 2014 in India resulting in significant demand for personal computers and notebooks. ICT manufacturers in Taiwan supply this sector besides others like smartphones, LCD televisions, motherboards, memory sticks and routers, opening up new vistas for partnerships.

Trade Links in the Electronics Industry
Bilateral trade links between India and Taiwan, taking into consideration the electronics industry, has witnessed a quantum leap in spite of its late start behind Japan and Korea.

The huge demand in India for home appliances and ICT products and services, as well as the Indian Government’s keenness to develop the hardware market in line with software advancements, has led to the Taiwanese entry with their hardware expertise.

The fields which could benefit from the bilateral exchange of expertise include wireless networks; energy as in LED and green power; medical electronics for distant healthcare, equipment; digital technologies for electronic governance and virtual classrooms and auto electronics.

The proximity of India to Taiwan, its immense growth potential, abundant labour, engineering expertise and stable economy are considered favorable grounds for ICT investments, not to mention its credentials for being the fastest growing economy in the world.

In the PC and peripherals sector, electronic components and finished products are the forte of Taiwanese manufacturers. Taiwanese technology firm Acer holds a market share of 10.4 per cent and it has further expanded its product line of servers and PCs in the Indian market.

Taiwan’s HTC Corporation and India’s Bharti Airtel launched 3G-compatible mobile phones and 3G mobile equipment. Also Inventec, a Taiwan-based original design manufacturer and Reliance Communications of India launched a CDMA mobile phone.

LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are highly efficient when compared to traditional light sources owing to their small size, ruggedness, lower energy consumption and longer lifetime. They are used in displays and traffic signals and also in optical networks and infrared wireless communications. HB, or high-brightness, LED production in Taiwan is second only to Japan. The LED market in India is a promising one for Taiwan.

India also sent a high-level IT delegation led by Rakesh Singh, additional secretary, Ministry of Information Technology to Computex Taipei 2010. The delegation comprised of Indian IT officials, investors and top executives from IT companies, visited Taiwanese suppliers to unearth collaborative opportunities.

TAITRA held Sourcing Taiwan 2010 to promote the purchase of products like metal processing machinery, building material, auto parts and bicycles, fitness equipment, consumer electronics and electronic components by Indian buyers resulting in business transactions to the tune of $5.67 million.

Trade and Technology Collaborations
Taiwan has planned to include a science and technology division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre which will oversee science and technology collaborations between the two nations. The US Air Force is actively doing research with Taiwanese research centers in making semiconductors using nano circuitry and in developing high-capacity integrated circuits, further strengthening Taiwan’s nanotechnology capabilities. Taiwan’s Economic Development Council has identified India as a “major market” for nanotechnology and plans to initiate more investments in India.

Biotechnology and genomics are other fields of interest for collaboration between the countries. Also Taiwan’s expertise in building quakeproof buildings can be used by India. Taiwan’s ability in flexible manufacturing, innovation and skill in customizing products has also advanced its machine tools industry. Its wireless modems, DSL modems, and personal digital assistants, or PDAs are in great demand in the digital home and portable communications sector in India.

IT companies, shoe manufacturers and mobile device-related companies are keen to set up export zones in the southern states of India. Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) has set up its liaison office in Chennai in Tamil Nadu, a southern state, in order to enhance its economic linkages and cultural presence in India. Companies like Adidas shoe manufacturer Apache, Foxconn, Wintek and Nike shoe manufacturer Fongtai have established themselves near Chennai, with this in mind.

Besides machine tools, electronics and ICT, trade links between the two countries include many other items. Looking at figures given by FICCI, Taiwan’s export from India increased from $2,542 million in 2007 to $2,338 million in 2008. Also Taiwan’s import from India increased from $2,342 million in 2007 to $3,007 million in 2007-08.

Taiwan imported mineral fuels and waste oils, copper, organic chemicals, iron and steel, salts, aluminum, pearls and stones from India. Taiwanese exports to India included plastics, electrical machinery and organic chemicals.

Also computer OEM majors from Taiwan like Inventec are keen on developing partnerships with Indian companies. Such endeavours will capitalize on new areas in the IT and biotech fields. Taiwan’s capability in computer hardware and software and India’s solid foundation in IC design have been leveraged to set up R&D centers in India including those of Asus, Foxconn and Wintek.

Johnny C. Chiang, government information office minister and Cabinet spokesman of Taiwan, acknowledged India’ s international status and its role in South Asia’s development. Besides business investments, cultural, educational and academic exchanges between the two countries will also be increased. Taiwan is recognized for the political and economic cooperation it can bring about in the re- gion to reduce tensions and promote glob- al peace and stability.

Talks between Indian civil aviation ministry officials and Taiwanese officials are expected to bear fruit in the form of direct flights operated by Indian companies between the two countries. India’s growing economic, political and strategic influence will enable it to play a significant role in the Asia-Pacific region.

India will have to pay greater attention to the region and the evolving Taiwan-India ties are looked on as an emerging Asian strategic setting. As Taiwanese and Indian strengths are complementary, with India being good in software, services, and system development and Taiwan in the manufacturing and technologies sector, it is only right to use these strengths to serve their domestic and global markets.