Taiwan promotes Taoyuan as Asian Silicon Valley

2016/06/08

Crowds descended on Taipei World Trade Center May 31 to June 4 for the annual Computex Taipei, which this year emphasized the increasing influence of startups in the global technology industry.

While the wares of traditional Taiwan titans like AsusTek Inc. and Tatung Co. were on display, Computex officials parlayed much of their energy this year into attracting startups from around the world. The largest information and communications technology show in Asia drew a total of 217 startup exhibitors, including 71 from abroad.

Walter M. S. Yeh, executive vice president of Computex organizer Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), said at the event’s closing news conference that as the foremost nonprofit trade promotion organization in Taiwan under the auspices of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the council will invite more startups to Taiwan.

“The government is particularly interested in cultivating a new startup hub in Taoyuan City called the Asian Silicon Valley,” he said, adding that the central and local governments are pouring in money to help foster startups.

“Taiwan is a good place for startups, and the country already has the capacity for R&D and manufacturing.”

Dumile Dlamini, 33, from Swaziland is a young entrepreneur impressed by the potential of Taiwan’s healthy startup environment. She arrived in 2000 with her parents, both diplomats from the landlocked Republic of China (Taiwan) diplomatic ally in southern Africa. After graduating from a local university, Dlamini elected to stay in Taipei and pursue her dreams of launching a startup.

Dlamini visited Computex June 3 to engage and learn from established startups. “It’s amazing how Taiwan is so open to new foreign startups,” she said. Describing the island as an “incubator of ideas,” Dlamini said she is close to launching a fashion design studio to help Taiwan’s indigenous peoples share their culture with the world.

Computex Taipei was inaugurated in 1981 as a platform for Taiwan computer companies to display their products. Over the last few decades, the show gained prominence on the international stage as Taiwan’s ICT industry took off.

According to Yeh, the number of Southeast Asian attendees skyrocketed this year due to TAITRA promotional efforts. “This is in line with the policy of the President Tsai Ing-wen administration, which has begun making investment overtures to Southeast Asian nations,” he said.

Computex saw 40,969 international visitors this year, an increase of 4.7 percent over 2015, Yeh said, adding that the event aims to reach out to visitors from around the world.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=245407&ctNode=2194&mp=9)