To deepen the bilateral cooperation, and to further the information exchanging to create business opportunities, Commerce Development Research Institute（CDRI）held the “2019 Taiwan-Japan Commercial Service Industry Cooperation Forum” on 8th November at Taipei International Convention Center. Through the exchange of the latest business service industry trends and strategies in Taiwan and Japan, companies from both sides have jointly entered the international market and the developed technology transformation. More than 150 attendees from corporates attended the event.
Japanese chain restaurant brands are popular among Taiwanese consumers. In recent years, the trend of Japan's investment in Taiwan has diversified. In addition to seeing the development of the Taiwan market, it can also be seen as a model for China and other Asian markets.
While the Vice Minister Mee-Shuen Chen from Department of Commerce, MOEA giving the speech, he mentioned that In 2018, the amount of Japanese investment in Taiwan reached US$1.52 billion, which is the highest since 2007. Japan’s investment in Taiwan is now more active in the service industry and more diverse. The Chief Deputy Representative Mitsuaki Hoshino from Taiwan-Japan Exchange Association, Taipei office also mentioned that in the past, Japan mainly invested in manufacturing industry in Taiwan. Now about half in service industry and bubble tea is also trendy in Japan. Recently, cooperation between Japanese and Taiwanese companies have become more enthusiastic.
Chairman Hsu of the CDRI said that nowadays, like Taiwan, Japan has gradually valued the importance of the southeastern market. If Taiwan and Japan can work together to, combining the advantages of both sides in terms of goods, channels and networks. At present, the cooperation between Taiwan and Japan has extended to digital transformation, new technology business and service industry. In recent years, Japan is facing aging, low birth-rate, and insufficient consumption power and the fact that the domestic market is too small, Taiwan has these problems also. Therefore, Taiwan and Japan may cooperate to explore new markets in the third place, form an economic cooperation ecosystem, and become the third-largest economic power in the world.
The Forum this year focused on the technology transformation and the New Southbound strategy. In the meeting, the Director Hiroyuki Itoh from Japan Franchise Association were invited to discuss the cooperation in the third-market; General Manager Yasuhiro Okada from Department of Digital Marketing, PARCO was also invited to share the corporate transformation strategy developed by the department store in response to Japan's current economic trends; Babo Arms founder Ms. He explained the impact of AI technology and big data on the technological transformation of the catering industry.
President Lon-Fa Hsieh of CDRI pointed out in the conclusion that with the rapid development of economic globalization, the proportion of commercial services expansion to foreign countries has increased significantly, and more business models and economic models have been developed. He said that through the quality research of the CDRI and JETRO, we could also share the critical business service industry trends and future business opportunities so that everyone can understand the current situation about Taiwan and Japan and other region's key issues on the business services industry.
