Taiwan Excellence 2016: crowning glory of fruitful cooperation

Back in the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, Taiwan and Vietnam were connected by the thinnest threads. The early 1990s, however, saw an increasing interest on both sides to improve economic relations and starting an enduring, friendly, and cooperative coexistence.

In almost three decades, the Vietnamese–Taiwanese trade and economic cooperation has been constantly developing, featuring a 27-fold increase in bilateral trade revenue and a 28-fold increase of Taiwanese investment capital in Vietnam. Currently, Taiwan ranks as Vietnam’s fifth largest trade partner. Bilateral trade has grown strongly in recent years, reaching $13 billion last year.

Vietnam is the most important destination for Taiwanese investment in Southeast Asia. For the first seven months of this year, Taiwan ranked fourth among the 50 countries and territories running investments in Vietnam. According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Taiwanese companies licenced 39 new and adjusted the capital of 25 existing projects, worth over $664 million in total, between January and July 2016.

In terms of tourism, Taiwanese and Vietnamese holiday-goers consider the two destinations increasingly attractive. 150,000 Vietnamese tourists visited Taiwan last year and 300,000 Taiwanese visitors came to Vietnam only in the first seven months of this year.

Especially since September 1 this year, when the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs loosened visa procedures for six ASEAN countries including Vietnam. 

This move is expected to boost the tourism co-operation between Vietnam and Taiwan.

During this year, Taiwan has also been continuously organising various events in Vietnam to reinforce economic relations. One of the most significant programmes in this endeavour is the Taiwan Excellence campaign.

Organised by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan (MOEA) and implemented by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Taiwan Excellence is an annual series of events that aims to introduce and promote leading Taiwanese products in Vietnam.

Marking its 7th year running in Vietnam, Taiwan Excellence 2016 has triumphantly introduced around 50 brands spanning across different fields, ranging from ICT, home appliances, and health care & fitness to transportation, to Vietnamese consumers – nearly triple the original 17 brands featured at the very first event.

With the participation of leading international brands, such as Acer, Asus, and HTC with their high-quality laptops and mobile phones, Taiwan Excellence celebrates Taiwanese innovation and creativity.

Taiwan Excellence Experiencing Zone, set up at two malls in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to offer consumers the opportunity to experience Taiwanese products, attracted more than 200,000 visitors. This is evidence for the highly positive reception of Taiwanese brands by Vietnamese consumers.

“We hope that advanced technological products from Taiwan will always accompany Vietnamese customers as the ‘everyday hero’ in their daily activities. We also hope that Taiwan Excellence will contribute to strengthening Vietnamese–Taiwanese bilateral economic, cultural and education relations,” said Richard R. C. Shih, representative of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam.

In addition to promoting Taiwanese economic interests, Taiwan Excellence also supported the Ho Chi Minh City Run, Vietnam’s biggest marathon, as a Gold Sponsor in 2016. The spirit of Ho Chi Minh City Run is to build a healthy community and bring more spiritual activities to the second city’s people, also to attract more tourists and international athletes to Vietnam every year.

“Positive action is the most convincing proof that Taiwanese organisations are committed to the development of Vietnam, especially the Taiwan Excellence campaign,” said Tang Ming Hui, director of Taiwan Trade Center’s Representative Office in Ho Chi Minh City.