Taiwan opens trade office in Myanmar

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the nation's major trade development organization, opened a trade office in Yangon, Myanmar Monday to tap into what it calls the Southeast Asian market with the greatest potential.

Speaking at a dinner celebrating the opening, TAITRA Chairman Wang Chih-kang said the Taiwan Trade Center in Myanmar's largest city will serve as a platform for bilateral trade cooperation and help Taiwanese companies explore business opportunities.

The trade office is Taiwan's first in the country and TAITRA's sixth in the region. It has set up similar offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta.

TAITRA will open another office in Manila in December, Wang said.

In addition to office space for rent, the conveniently located trade center in Yangon offers assistance to Taiwanese who do business in Myanmar and neighboring countries, said Yeh Jen-cheng, director of the new office.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs has listed Myanmar as a major target of export promotion efforts in 2014. Officials are looking to expand two-way trade, investment and technical cooperation.

Bilateral trade in the first nine months of 2013 reached US$190.9 million, up 14.6 percent from the same period of last year, according to Taiwan's customs office.

Taiwanese exports to Myanmar in the first eight months grew by nearly 16 percent.

Myanmar has abundant natural resources and cheap labor but many structural problems remain, a TAITRA official said. Land prices are high and the country is marked by a lack of infrastructure including roads, communications and even water and electricity supplies.

Jointly sponsored by the government and industry associations, TAITRA was founded in 1970 as a non-profit organization to help promote foreign trade by helping Taiwan businesses and manufacturers improve their international competitiveness and cope with the challenges they face in foreign markets.

It has over 50 overseas offices.

source: Focus Taiwan

http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aeco/201311040041.aspx