Taiwan is “eager and committed to collaborate with the Philippines in exploring business opportunities”, according to James Chu, minister of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines.
This as Taiwan remains optimistic that its bilateral relations with the Philippines will be “maintained and strengthened”, particularly in the areas of investments and sectoral trade opportunities, including the information and communications technology (ICT) sector where it sees huge potential in the country.
“We will continue to bring the best ICT, consumer electronics and home appliances, and sports and leisure products for… customers. I am confident the combined efforts of the governments and local enterprises will serve to strengthen ties between Taiwan and the Philippines,” Chu said.
To show Taiwan’s commitment of bringing its innovations to Filipino consumers, the fourth annual edition of Taiwan Excellence, a campaign that aims to raise brand awareness and preference for Taiwanese products in the Philippines, kicked off at Fairmont Hotel, showcasing new products from the ICT sector and other industries that have earned the Taiwan Excellence seal, an award given to a product based on design, quality, marketability, research and development, and manufacturing.
Tony Lin, deputy director of strategic marketing department at Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), noted that the overriding objective of the campaign is to introduce Taiwan’s reliable, innovative, and remarkable products and boost awareness to a progressively aspiring audience in the Philippines.
Some of the ICT products featured include the Swift 7, the slimmest laptop developed by Acer; Zenphone 3 Live, the first smartphone with real time beautification technology made by ASUS; Trident 3, the smallest virtual reality (VR) gaming PC from MSI; and Paper Shoot Camera, which is made out of heavy-stock paper that is powered by two AA batteries, weighs less than 80 grams and saves images onto an SD card.
There are 52 accredited Taiwanese brands and over 150 products participating in the campaign, ranging from ICT, home and lifestyle products, and leisure and sporting goods. The ICT industry is represented by 18 brands, consisting of Acer, ADATA, Apacer, ASUS, AVer, Beseye, BXB, D-Link, DrayTek, Edimax, Gigabyte, IN WIN, MSI, Plustek, Silicon Power, TEAM, Thermaltake, and Transcend.
Taiwan Excellence-sealed products are available at the Experiential Zones in SM Megamall (June 2 – 4); SM Mall of Asia (September 29 – October 1); and Glorietta (November 24 – 26). The campaign will also be featured in expositions, such as Systems Integration Expo (August 17 – 19); Taiwan Expo (September 29 – October 1); and Philconstruct 2017 (November 9 – 12). They will also be available at retail displays at PC Express starting June until the end of the year.
According to Gilberto Lauengco, Board of Directors member and CFO at the Manila Economic Office (MECO), with the campaign, “the penetration of Taiwanese products in the Philippines is now increasing, and the excellence from Asian products is growing.”
Taiwan plays an important role in the global ICT supply chain with Taiwan-based ICT companies accounting for 89% of the world’s production of notebooks and 74% of the global desktop PCs. It also produces a quarter of the world’s semiconductors and a fifth of the world’s smartphones.
Taiwan was the Philippines’ 10th largest trading partner and the eighth biggest export market. In 2016, trade between Taiwan and the Philippines increased by 15% to $10.87-billion, from $9.61-billion in 2015.
