Most Japan firms satisfied with Taiwan setup
Written by Writer on Sunday, October 19th, 2008
Most Japan firms satisfied with Taiwan setup
CNA
Sunday, October 19, 2008 9:41 am
TAIPEI, Taiwan –– Some 51.7 percent of Japanese enterprises in Taiwan are satisfied with their current operations in the country, according to the results of a survey released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) late Thursday.
The survey, commissioned by the MOEA and conducted by the Taipei branch of Japan’s Nomura Research Institute, was aimed at learning more about how Japanese enterprises view the Taiwan market and their means of coping with the country’s changing investment environment.
Japanese firms invest in Taiwan mainly because of the market, the respondents indicated, with about 65 percent of those in research and development saying that Taiwan was their target market for product development, and 68 percent of those in production indicating that they wanted to be close to the market.
About 32 percent of respondents think one of the advantages of operating in Taiwan is that they are well positioned to develop products for other Asian markets including China, and 25 percent of the respondents in the field of marketing and selling think Taiwan functions as a test market before they look at other countries, the poll showed.
In terms of coping with the shrinking Taiwan market, 50 percent of the respondents said they chose to invest in high value-added products and services, while 47.3 percent said they will expand to other markets.
Some 19.1 percent of the respondents that sell their products in Taiwan think the Taiwan market will expand in the future, while 45.5 percent think the situation will remain the same, according to the poll.
Among the respondents, 78.1 percent have operated in Taiwan for over a decade, and 48.1 percent for longer than 20 years.
Respondents were drawn from a wide range of business operations, with 68.9 percent in marketing and selling, 53.8 percent in purchasing, 51.8 in after-sale service, and 32.7 percent in research and development, and product planning and design.
The survey obtained 251 valid samples in June from Japanese firms in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries in Taiwan.
