Cabinet to promote engineering globalization

2015/10/30

A strategy aimed at promoting Taiwan’s engineering expertise in overseas markets is to be implemented alongside existing public and private sector efforts designed to boost the local industry’s presence abroad, according to Premier Mao Chi-kuo Oct. 28.

Under the Cabinet scheme, the Public Construction Commission will raise NT$470 million (US$14.4 million) over four years to fund the overseas expansion of local engineering firms in the areas of power generation, natural resources, transportation and construction, among others.

“We expect to establish five flagship teams through this government-led initiative to export cutting-edge engineering solutions and technologies originating in Taiwan,” Mao said.

“With government support in terms of market information, financing and human resources, there is every reason to believe that our previous successes will help to tap the immense potential of the global marketplace.”

Mao made the remarks at the PCC-organized Engineering Industry Globalization Conference in Taipei City. Due to fierce global competition, he added, Taiwan is in need of structural upgrades in the engineering sector, and should seek to provide solutions integrating upstream and downstream services throughout the industry value chain.

The Cabinet plans to help facilitate the transformation via a four-pronged scheme, according to the premier. The first step will be to help the industry export its expertise in whole plants and total solutions.

“Initially, the efforts will focus on petrochemical facilities, power plants, soil and groundwater treatment operations, as well as electronic toll collection and mass rapid transit systems. These types of projects all require the expertise that Taiwan’s engineers possess,” Mao said.

The Cabinet has coordinated interministerial efforts to streamline the flow of capital, human resources and information in order to assist members of the industry in making effective use of the new scheme, the premier added.

“The Ministry of Finance will establish a syndicated loan platform led by the ROC Export-Import Bank to back the overseas endeavors, with capital funding capped at NT$566 billion.

“In addition, the government is working to diversify Taiwan’s talent pool by encouraging foreign students to join the nation’s workforce while ramping up cultivation programs for second-generation immigrants from Southeast Asia.”

These efforts will be complemented by market information services provided by the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs, Mao said, noting that he expects to see significant advances on the globalization front in the near future.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=238337&ctNode=2194&mp=9)