2018 Taiwan-Israel Business Opportunities SeminarBureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs

Vice President of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC), Mr. Amir Shani (third from right), attended Taiwan-Israel Business Opportunities Seminar.

 

The 2018 Taiwan-Israel Business Opportunities Seminar was held by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) on the 27th of September. The BOFT invited Vice President Mr. Amir Shani of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC) to visit Taiwan and explain the economic situation in Israel as well as cooperative business opportunities available to our two sides. Meanwhile, Chairman Peter Chai of the Taiwan Israel Chamber of Commerce (TICC), described the Israeli business model and culture. The seminar was well-received and attended by 105 companies.
 

Executive Vice President of TAITRA Ms. Leonor Lin stated that both Israel and Taiwan excel in the field of high technology. While Taiwan is skilled in hardware production, Israel is good at software R&D and innovation. This indicates that both sides have complementary advantages and that there are opportunities for business cooperation. Deputy Director of the BOFT Martin Chen said there are numerous Taiwanese companies that have demonstrated examples of existing and successful cooperation with Israel, such as the Formosa Petrochemical Corporation, HTC, Quanta, Foxconn, MediaTek, CTBC Bank, Kavalan Whisky, etc. 

 

Mr. Shani stated that Israel’s economic and industrial progress has enabled it to become the second largest pool of venture capital funding in the world after the Silicon Valley, thereby attracting famous multinational enterprises like Google, Facebook, Intel, Cisco, IBM and Microsoft to establish R&D centers or production bases in Israel.

He suggested that Taiwan and Israel can focus on advanced industries such as pharmaceuticals, homeland security, medical diagnostics, opto-electronics, electronics, biotechnology, cyber software, etc. In addition, the FICC is the most important import and export association in Israel with more than 2500 traders. Thus, it will help support cooperation between both sides and provide related information to Taiwanese businesses.

 

Mr. Chai said that more than 1000 new start-ups are established in Israel each year. These start-ups thrive under the government’s support mechanism, venture capital funding, and R&D associations, which serve as a great example for Taiwan. It's worth mentioning that the target of Israel’s huge venture capital has shifted from Europe to Asia, and Taiwan is favored for its high-tech industry and the value it places on intellectual property rights.

 

To date, Taiwan and Israel have signed 25 bilateral economic arrangements in the fields of technology, air transport, authorized economic operator (AEO), avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion, mutual visa-exemption, industrial R&D cooperation, etc.

 

Mr. Amir Shani introduced the business opportunities available to Taiwan and Israel.