The bilateral trade between Saudi Arabia and Taiwan has been growing year-on-year, said Mr. Joseph Chen, leader of the Taiwanese trade delegation in a meeting at Asharqia Chamber recently. Mr. Chen was leading a large 25-member delegation which was received by the Chamber’s Board Member Mr. Ghodran Saeed Ghodran and Secretary General Mr. Abdulrahman A. Al Wabel.
According to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the two-way trade exchanges between the two countries reached over $7 billion in 2016, with Saudi exports to Taiwan amounting to $5.8 billion and its imports from Taiwan accounting for $1.2 billion. Saudi supplies to Taiwan are mainly oil and oil based products while its imports consist of an assortment of products including IT components, industrial machinery, electronics, textiles, medical devices, auto parts and equipment.
Taiwan is now considered a technologically advanced manufacturing powerhouse and home to key manufacturers and suppliers of various products, noted Mr. Abraham Lin, representative of TAITRA. He added that the purpose of the visit of the delegation was to facilitate business cooperation between Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. The Taiwanese trade delegation also visited Jubail.
Mr. Ghodran in his welcome speech said that the Taiwanese delegation was visiting the Kingdom at a very opportune moment when Saudi Arabia has generated enormous trade and investment opportunities for foreign companies in the wake of its “Vision 2030”. “This is the most ambitious Saudi Vision which has been regarded as an epoch-making initiative mainly aimed at reducing country’s dependence away from oil,” he observed.
He urged Taiwanese companies to take advantage of profitable trade and investment opportunities by establishing manufacturing bases for their products particularly in the Eastern Province which is heart of industrial activities not only in the Kingdom, but also in the entire Gulf region.
Mr. Ghodran mentioned that a number of leading Taiwanese companies have already made some noticeable investments in the Kingdom worth over $7.6 billion. Notable Saudi-Taiwanese join ventures are Al Bayroni Al Jubail Fertilizer Company, CTCI Arabia Construction and Gulf Royal Restaurant. “There is scope of more investments since Taiwanese companies have advanced technology and know-how to offer to the Kingdom,” he said.
Taiwanese delegation represented a wide range of products in the areas of steel, automation, instrumentation, safety & security, home appliances, household furniture, food and beverages, cosmetics, textiles and ready-made garments.
