Taiwan-proposed big data initiative adopted by APEC

2016/08/09

The Taiwan-proposed Advancing Big Data Applications in Trade project was approved Aug. 1 by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Committee on Trade and Investment, underscoring Taiwan’s consistent efforts to create a modern trade environment in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

“This project aims to encourage APEC member economies to explore the possibilities and benefits of a data-driven method for improving cooperation and information sharing in the field of international trade,” said Yuan Hung-lin, executive secretary of the Multilateral Trade Affairs Division under MOEA’s Bureau of Foreign Trade. “In particular, small and medium-sized enterprises in the region will benefit greatly from big data technologies, allowing them to identify new trade and economic development opportunities.”

To promote big data applications in international trade and boost trade momentum in the Asia-Pacific region, the BOFT proposed the Advancing Big Data Applications in Trade initiative at the APEC CTI meeting held May 10-11 in Arequipa, Peru. The US$150,000 MOEA-sponsored initiative received a warm response from APEC member economies, gaining co-sponsorships from Australia, South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand, Yuan said.

Taiwan will cooperate with the aforementioned four countries to organize a seminar at Taipei World Trade Center Oct. 6-7 that will include specialists and representatives of trade promotion organizations from all around the Asia-Pacific region, according to the executive secretary. These experts will share their experiences and perspectives on big data applications and development trends in the area of trade.

Additionally, seminar participants will be invited to visit the 2016 E-Commerce Expo Asia also held at TWTC Oct. 5-7. The event will showcase new technologies, trends and applications for big data, as well as innovations in cross-border e-commerce, digital marketing and mobile commerce. It is expected that officials from all 21 APEC member economies and representatives from the APEC Secretariat will attend the events, Yuan said.

APEC is an important platform that allows Taiwan to foster trade and economic exchanges and cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries, according to MOEA. Over the years, Taiwan has spearheaded several projects to accelerate regional growth and proposed a number of SME-related initiatives, which have secured financing of US$1.73 million from the APEC Support Fund.

This year, Taiwan, along with the Philippines and Malaysia, presented the next step in APEC’s Online-to-Offline (O2O) Initiative titled “Enhancing SME Digital Competitiveness and Resilience toward Quality Growth,” which is designed to create a network of O2O experts and lead to a series of forums and the publishing of an APEC SME Digital Competitiveness and Resilience Guidebook. The plan has thus far gained 13 co-sponsors, as well as approval and funding of US$136,260 from APEC.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=246834&ctNode=2194&mp=9)