MOEA proposes additional Taiwan e-commerce measures

2016/01/11

Taiwan is set to become a hub of Internet-based business activity under a raft of e-commerce promotion measures proposed Jan. 7 by the ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The undertaking, which includes industry and cross-disciplinary talent cultivation strategies, targets eight sectors for strategic promotion. These are agricultural e-commerce, digital learning and publishing, Internet banking, as well as online gaming, tourism, retailing, and video and new media.

Following a Cabinet presentation of the measures, Premier Mao Chi-kuo said they will be supported by regulatory revisions enabling enhanced coordination of interministerial efforts and resources.

“All relevant agencies have been directed to focus on the e-commercialization of Taiwan’s industry sector, infrastructure building and internationalization of the local online business,” he said.

According to the MOEA, it will also introduce a policy guideline assisting local firms to take advantage of new opportunities stemming from the increasingly popular concept of sharing economy—a socio-economic system based on the sharing of human and physical resources.

As part of this initiative, an app will be launched in May by the MOEA offering integrated services to foreign tourists in Taiwan.

The platform allows users to make pre-arrival travel arrangements, engage in online shopping while in country, take part in tourism activities and share these experiences through social media platforms after departure.

MOEA forecasts have Taiwan’s e-commerce transactions doubling from NT$588.1 billion (US$30.76 billion) in 2015 to over NT$1 trillion in 2020, with cross-border retail transactions surging to NT$45 billion from NT$18 billion.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=241048&ctNode=2194&mp=9)