Taiwan expo ends on high note
> Three-day event showcases country’s lifestyle and vision of high-quality living
THE Taiwan Expo 2018 in Malaysia has successfully concluded with more than 23,000 visitors and about NT$1.5 billion (RM202.4 million) in business opportunities.
Co-organised by the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra), the three-day event had six main highlights designed to showcase the country’s lifestyle of leisure and its vision of high-quality living.
At the Taiwan tourism pavilion, exhibitors brought many of the country’s most famous products and attracted hundreds of potential buyers, making food sampling a hit with visitors.
Many were also looking for travel guidance for Taiwan’s Michelin Star cuisine tour, and the response to the Taichung World Flora Exposition to be held this month went beyond expectations.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan green products pavilion was tailored to the needs of Malaysia’s green industry development.
Companies such as Queen Yun Green Power Technology Co Ltd managed to attract buyers to their energy-saving and heat-insulating tiles, while other companies m et to discuss solutions and secure deals.
The cycling culture has taken root in Malaysia seeing the positive response to the Brizon bicycle.
The bicycles caught the eyes of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry senior director Datuk Bahria Mohd Tamil and Malaysia-Taiwan Trade Federation Association president Datuk Seri Tang Ying Lik.
The exhibitor also received an order for a sample by a distributor looking to bring it into the New Zealand market.
As part of its market stimulus initiative, Malaysia has abolished the import taxes on cosmetics since 2014 and with the rise in spending power among Muslims, the cosmetic industry has grown in folds over the past years.
At the expo, halal certified Maskingdom managed to close orders during the exhibition, while Dr Jou Biotech Corp sold 20 boxes of its popular facial masks.
The expo also saw Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad, AirAsia and Parkson Holdings visiting to explore opportunities.
Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad president Datuk Tan Heng Chew expressed interest in Buder’s Hydrogen Water and his desire to distribute the product.
The automobile subsidiary of the company also entered talks with Sander Electronics to procure their car lighting solutions and the latter has expressed its plan to set up factory in Penang to hasten its growth in Asean.
Meanwhile, AirAsia indicated its interest in Active Intelligence car bags and backpacks.
The iF Design Award winning bags are stylish and practical, and both parties are in procurement discussions.
AirAsia has also started negotiations with Fresh Taiwan to commission a series of airliner shaped USB storage drives for inflight sale.
In conjunction with the expo, five seminars and five peripheral events were held.
A patient who successfully treated his trigeminal pain at the Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital in Taiwan shared his experience of the treatment and got other sufferers to enquire about potential treatments.
Additionally, 50 Malaysian ecommerce operations joined the ecommerce seminar with companies such as MCIL Multimedia Sdn Bhd and 11 Street discussing potential future working relationships with Taiwan’s Accupass, an online ticketing site for events.
Many of Taiwan’s most prominent ICT companies received a steady stream of visitors, and the e-sport arena on the last day attracted 30 competitive gamers as they battled it out in the cyber arena.
The expo received its 200,000th visitor Nur Khairunnisa Abd who came with her mother. Nur Khairunnisa received a bicycle from Giant.
Since 2017, Taiwan Expo has held nine exhibitions in six Asian cities – Jakarta, New Delhi, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.
There are plans to move into other cities in Indonesia, India, Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia to broaden the scope and seek a greater level of cooperation with international partners.