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Dear friends,
I am pleased today to be able to tell you more about the great country of Taiwan. Indiana state and Taiwan have a vibrant history that dates back to 1979. During the course of this history,Indiana and Taiwan have formed a Sister State Partnership Committee. Through this committee Taiwan is committed to promoting understanding and cooperation between the citizens of Indiana and Taiwan.Taiwan has significant economic ties with the state of Indiana, importing over US$99 million worth of chemicals, machinery and agricultural products from the state annually.
Taiwan has a population of 23 million, with 2.6 million living in the capital city of Taipei (Sister City with Indianapolis) in the north of the nation, and another 1.4 million in the next largest city, KaoHsiung, on the southern end of the island. Total land area of the country is 13,800 sq.miles. The national language is Mandarin Chinese,though a majority of people also speak English,Taiwanese or Japanese.
Although Taiwan itself is barely over 50 years old,most of Taipei city is around a century old. It is already home to the tallest building in the world,expansive WiFi coverage, and an amazingly clean and convenient subway system.
Taiwan has the world's 17th largest economy, and is the 15th largest trading partner in the world. From Indiana, Taiwan currently imports such products as: vehicular components, machinery, pharmaceuticals, aircraft components and agricultural products. Taiwan's own industries are in the areas of: electronics, petroleum refining,armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement,food processing, vehicles, consumer products, and pharmaceuticals.
With a labor force of over 10.6 million (almost half the population) and consumer price inflation at only about 2.3 %, Taiwan has a strong and healthy economy. The GDP in 2005 was US$631.2 billion, with a growth of 3.8%. That means the per capita GDP (with purchasing power parity) was US$27600. Compare this to Hong Kong's 2004 GDP of US$ 164.4 billion, and per capita GDP of US$23,900, or China's 2005 GDP of US$1.6 trillion, with per capita GDP of US$6,270.
Taiwan is only about 18 hours by airplane from Indiana, and offers 3 international airports, 15 domestic airports,the world's newest High-Speed Railway (cutting travel time for the 250 miles from Taipei to KaoHsiung to a mere 90 minutes), and of course, a modern highway system that connects all cities and ports.
Some of the competitive advantages that Taiwan offers include: the ability to quickly commercialize new technologies; globally recognized high tech manufacturing strengths; significant government support of advanced R&D efforts;and a mature logistics infrastructure. On top of all that, Taiwan is a good test market for new products intended for the Asian market.
Taiwanese consumers increasingly demand high-quality, high-value products. Because of this, Taiwan is expecting to have massive growth in the near future in areas such as: Semiconductor&Microelectronics;Display&Optoelectronics; Biotechnology&Pharmaceuticals; Telecommunications; DigitalContent; Precision Machinery; Materials&FineChemicals; Nanotechnology; Transportation & Public Construction.
As representative of the IEDC in Taiwan, I am looking forward to getting together with you and exchanging information, or discussing the benefits and opportunities that Taiwan can offer you and your business. Please feel free to contact us at anytime. Again, welcome to Taiwan.
Sincerely,
 
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