JEDDAH, 14 October 2004 — Taiwan, which celebrated its 93rd anniversary day on Sunday night, has outlined plans to further expand its trade relations with Saudi Arabia.
Taiwan’s oil imports from the Kingdom average 300,000 barrels per day. Its bilateral trade with the Kingdom totaled $4.6 billion in 2003, which includes Taiwan’s $361 million exports and $4.3 billion imports from the Kingdom, according to Chin-Ray Liu, director general of the Jeddah-based Taipei Economic & Cultural Representative Office.
For the first half of 2004, the two-way trade totaled $2.7 billion, with the Kingdom enjoying a trade surplus of $2.2 billion. “With the increase in bilateral trade, we hope to further improve our mutual relations,” he said.
Of late, Taiwan has become a global supply center. By increasing production at overseas centers, Taiwanese manufacturers have successfully transformed the island into a global supply center and new technology creator. “Taiwan is now the world’s third largest producer of IT hardware. In terms of Notebooks, LCDs and scanners, we’re No. 1 in the world,” he said.
Taiwan’s IT manufacturers especially have been striving to upgrade their products and services, and have been rapidly expanding their overseas production to bring down costs.
Over the last five decades, rapid economic development by the island’s 23 million people has made it one of the world’s largest economies, Liu said.
With the per capita income of $13,000, Taiwan is now the 15th largest trading place in the world and maintains 120 missions abroad. With its foreign exchange reserves ranking third in the world, Taiwan is engaging itself in various relief and assistance programs globally. Its population is larger than two-thirds of the UN member states.
In May 2003, Taiwan had 38 long-term technical missions stationed in 32 partner countries to strengthen local skills in agriculture, fisheries, vocational training, trade and investment.
Taiwan’s business environment ranks 18th in the world as the best place to conduct business, according to the EIU Global Outlook issue of November 2003. Its competitiveness ranked fifth among 80 countries in the world, according to the World Economic Forum.
Liu recalled that in January 2002 both Taiwan and China became full members of the WTO. “The WTO is expected to serve as a constructive platform for dialogue on trade and economic issues between the two sides,” he said, adding that close ties between China and Taiwan offer a big scope for foreign investors to cooperate with Taiwan-based investors.
