Taiwan entrepreneurs adjust mainland marketing strategy

(Ecns.cn) – Hundreds of Taiwanese entrepreneurs at the helms of small and medium enterprises convened in Taipei on December 26 to share their experiences in the Chinese mainland market and other emerging economies.

Wang Chih-kang, chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, acknowledged the mainland had developed into the world's largest market and one which is of the greatest significance to Taiwan's small and medium enterprises.

Shih Yen-shiang, head of Taiwan's economy authorities, said in the meeting that since the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) Taiwan's enterprises had been granted preferential tariffs in the mainland, and the 12th Five-year Plan which stressed a domestic demand driven economy had laid a concrete foundation for Taiwan's enterprises to open up the mainland market as well as other emerging ones.

The mainland market was reputed to welcome low-price commodities, but many Taiwanese entrepreneurs testified this notion was "behind the times". Huang Wen-jung, deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, pointed out that items exported from Taiwan to the mainland had become "more and more expensive" in recent years.

Lee Kung-fang, general manager of Taiwan's well known health food company Homebake, said mainlanders had shifted their focus from the quantity to the quality of food. These circumstances prompted the company's decision to target health food products for the high-end market in the mainland. In the past two years Homebake had taken advantage of opportunities to showcase various Taiwanese brands here which substantially boosted its turnover.

Lin Chun-ling, deputy general manager of 21st Century Nanotechnology Ltd., said their products were considered too expensive for the mainland market at first, but they turned out to be popular at every exposition and hailed by the mainland people.

"One of the customers bought our products on the first day of an exposition and returned on the following day to place another order," she said.

Since 2009 Taiwan's economic strategy has included plans to exploit the mainland market about which they have high expectations. Wang Chih-kang said the Taiwan External Trade Development Council supported seven Taiwanese brands expositions on the mainland in 2010, attracting 2.33 million visitors.

He added that the council would invite Taiwanese enterprises to attend the Beijing Auto Show and the Shanghai Environmental Protection Exhibition in 2012 to further aims for Taiwanese brands and products in the mainland market.