Taiwanese businesses look to India as alternative to China

NEW DELHI (Reuters): Taiwan is pitching India as a potential business destination to its tech, auto, renewable energy and farm sector firms as the United States’ trade war with China has pushed its companies to look for newer markets, two officials said on Friday. 

Shih-Chung Liu, vice chairman of Taiwan External Trade Development Council, and Chung-Kwang Tien, the representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India, attend a news conference in New Delhi, India, 20 September – Reuters

More than 10,000 Taiwanese companies, including Apple suppliers Foxconn and Wistron have massive operations in China, thanks to its tax incentives, organised supply chain and logistics, efficient business parks as well its cultural ties to the island.

But a trade war between Washington and Beijing has led to higher tariffs on goods worth tens of billions of dollars and disrupted global supply chains, prompting companies to look at other countries to escape higher tariffs.

“This trade war has encouraged more Taiwanese companies to figure out other options. So India and also other ASEAN countries are the alternative markets,” Shih-Chung Liu, vice chairman of Taiwan External Trade Development Council, told reporters.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional block comprising ten nations in Southeast Asia, which promotes economic, political and military ties between members.

Beijing maintains that Taiwan, an island 110 miles (177 km) off the Chinese mainland, does not qualify for formal diplomatic ties with any country. And though India has no formal relation with Taiwan, Taipei runs an Economic and Cultural Center in capital New Delhi, which operates as a de facto embassy.

Taiwanese firms are looking to invest in India’s technology, renewable energy, electric vehicle and farm sectors, Liu said.

“India is among the most important markets, among those 18 new southbound policy countries.”.