Polish trade agency opens branch in Taiwan

Polish Investment and Trade Agency's (PAIH) new office in Taipei will assist Polish entrepreneurs in the promotion of domestic products, the establishment of business contacts with Asian partners, as well as the acquisition of crucial investments from Taiwan.

"Taiwan’s economy ranks 26th in the world and is among the ten largest trading partners of Poland in Asia. We had no doubts that we had to be here to support bilateral cooperation," said Wojciech Fedko, the agency’s vice-president, in a PAIH press statement that was released on Wednesday.

As he emphasised, Taiwan is one of the most economically developed areas in the world. It is one of the "Asian tigers", and in the last half-century has become an economic power. "Its success is largely based on the activities of small- and medium-sized enterprises, as well as large corporations with a global reach," Fedko explained. He added that the IT industry and the metallurgical industry became the driving forces behind its economic growth.

According to PAIH, Poland has been recording a significant trade deficit with Taiwan for years. Fedko emphasised that this should be changed through the systematic promotion of Polish products and business.

He also pointed to biotechnology, information and communications technology, parapharmaceuticals production, the cosmetics industry, green technologies and the food industry as the most promising areas for Polish companies.

Fedko stressed that despite its huge foreign currency reserves, Taiwan is still not a significant capital investor in Poland. He added that the task of Poland's representative office in Taipei will be to acquire not only new investments, but also those which are significant for the Polish economy.

The PAIH vice-president said that at the opening of the PAIH office, the Polish delegation met with a dozen or so Taiwanese investors already present in Poland as well as those interested in investing in the country. "For decades, Taiwan has been a trading hub of the region, our entrepreneurs can benefit from this gate to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, among other regions," he noted.

According to Michalina Jendrzejczyk, PAIH's Taipei bureau chief, Taiwan is a price sensitive market with demanding consumers who expect the highest quality products. Foreign goods must therefore comply with local standards and regulations on labelling. "It’s the lack of knowledge about local law and business culture that is the biggest entry barrier for Polish companies," she said.