Taiwanese Firm Develops ‘Tiny Plant’

RIYADH, 1 August 2007 — With the Kingdom’s furniture and interior-decoration market projected to grow by $2 billion annually and half a million household units to be added over the next five years, Taiwan has figured out a novel way of making a dent into this burgeoning market. A Taiwanese firm in the Agricultural Biotechnology Park in Taipei has genetically engineered a tiny plant that can adorn showrooms in Saudi homes. The new biotechnological product, known as “Tiny Plant”, should be of interest to dealers in interior decoration participating in the 12th International Trade Exhibition for Furniture and Interiors due to be held in Riyadh from May 11-14 next year, Sheng-tsung Yang, representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, told Arab News.