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Taiwan and India are democracies that have a track record of creating innovative technological solutions, largely in the hardware and software sectors, respectively. While both have a thriving technology sector, their bilateral economic trade and commerce in this technology sector may be sub-optimal, with current estimates putting aggregate bilateral trade around $8 billion in 2021. As Taiwan elects a new government, and as India heads into a federal election soon, could a renewed push by both towards a fresh approach to their economic relations be in the offing?
- As India seeks to shore up its hardware sector through the Make-in-India scheme, the Indian Semiconductor Mission and the various PLI (Production-Linked-Incentive) schemes targeting further investments, where does Taiwan fit in?
- Notable Taiwanese smartphone assembly companies, in particular, have demonstrated that there are avenues for growth in India by ramping up their investments and increasing hiring. However, what more could be done to provide a hospitable investment climate in India, and what are Taiwanese companies looking for? What are Taiwanese institutions like ITRI and TSRI also looking at?
- Given the China + 1 strategy adopted by various manufacturing companies, how have India’s overall endeavours to onshore these manufacturing operations fared thus far? How have Global Value Chains (GVCs) in the electronics sector responded to India’s effort to onshore GVCs to India?
Agenda
5:30 p.m. – 5:40 p.m. – Opening Remarks by the Moderator
5:40 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Opening Remarks by panelists
6:00 p.m. – 7:10 p.m. – Moderated discussion among panelists
7:10 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Q&A session with the audience
Discussion Themes:
1) Opportunities for Taiwanese companies in India
- What sort of opportunities have been evaluated and considered by Taiwanese companies in India thus far?
- What are the sectors where investment has been secured from Taiwanese companies? Why have these sectors been chosen?
2) India’s current investment climate and possible roadblocks
- What policy frameworks are required to enable greater Taiwanese private-sector participation?
- What has changed, when it comes to investing in India over the last 3-4 years? Can Taiwanese companies expect anything different?
- Most investments from Taiwan have come in the form of assembly and chip design companies. Why has that been the case? What more could be done to bolster the manufacturing-centric operations of Taiwanese firms in India?
3) The Way Forward
- Germany recently secured a massive investment from TSMC to build a chip plant. This required multiple rounds of discussions, apparently after 40 rounds of talks. Could both Taiwan and India learn from this approach? Is more engagement the answer?
- What tinkering could be done, if any, with the PLI scheme, the Indian semiconductor scheme and the Make-in-India scheme to attract manufacturing firms from Taiwan?
