The Central News Agency (Taipei) - Germany's trade office in Taipei is set to offer services, including market research and recruitment, for German automobile maker Volkswagen AG, which plans to open a factory in Taiwan by 2015.
Supporting German companies that want to invest in Taiwan or do business here is a major task of the German Trade Office Taipei, it told CNA recently.
The office noted that it has been offering professional services to German companies for more than 30 years, ranging from address research, legal and investment advice, recruitment and training services to market studies.
For example, when Volkswagen's luxury car brand Audi set up its own company, Audi Taiwan Ltd., in 2008, the office provided important support to Audi, especially in the field of personnel recruitment, it said.
However, the office declined to talk more about Volkswagen's investment plan in Taiwan because it had not received any statement from the car maker directly.
Taikoo Motors Ltd., the Taiwanese agent for Volkswagen, said Feb. 6 that the German company has decided to set up an assembly factory in Taiwan.
Production could start by 2015 if the government approves the investment proposal and offers the required resources, Taikoo Motors said.
Based on Volkswagen's middle- and long-term plans, the first stage of the proposed investment is to acquire 165,000 square meters of land to build a facility that can assemble 50,000 cars per year.
With its assembly plant project, the car maker is hoping to massively increase its Taiwan market share to 15 percent, which would put it behind only the number one seller, Toyota.
"Taiwan has been and continues to be an attractive place for German companies to invest and make use of the very good business environment," the German Trade Office Taipei said.
According to data compiled by the office, German companies have invested around US$1.92 billion in Taiwan since 1952. In 2012, investment by German companies in Taiwan reached US$56 million, more than double the figure for 2011.
German companies have benefited from working on their projects with Taiwanese partners, as well as from government investment incentives for foreign companies that invest in research and development here, the office said.
Taiwan's corporate tax of only 17 percent and its comparatively low labor costs contribute to a positive investment environment, while a Germany-Taiwan double taxation avoidance agreement that has been in effect since January 2013 will boost further investment in both directions, it added.
In a report released last December by the U.S.-based Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI), Taiwan remained the world's fourth-best investment environment, trailing only behind Singapore, Switzerland and Norway.
Asked about the main concerns of German companies that are considering investing in Taiwan, the office said it is important for foreign companies that they find an open and fair regulatory environment in Taiwan that is in line with international standards and best practices.
"Taiwan is taking measures in this direction to improve its competitiveness and attractiveness as an investment destination," it said.
"But the need for double-testing and double-certification and also Taiwan-only standards still poses a technical barrier to trade that should be removed," the office said.
Furthermore, recruiting and retaining qualified personnel is a problem for more than 50 percent of the German companies in Taiwan, according to the results of a survey conducted by the office among 208 German companies in Taiwan from May 14 to June 8 last year.
German companies are looking for qualified staff with a good level of English or even German language skills, an international mindset and intercultural experience, the survey found.
