The 2004 Taiwan Business Alliance Forum News Release

October 14, 2004

Following the successful Taiwan Business Alliance Conference held in October last year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is hosting another large-scale investment event this year -- the 2004 Taiwan Business Alliance Forum -- on November 7-10 in Taipei as part of its continued efforts to promote foreign investment and boost Taiwan's economy. Unlike the 2003 event in which twelve industries were featured, the MOEA has chosen to focus on three key idustries in which Taiwan has great development potential: biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, IC design and IT services.

According to the MOEA's Industrial Development and Investment Center (IDIC), the government agency coordinating the event, prior to the 2004 Taiwan Business Alliance Forum on November 8th, a press conference will be held on November 7th at 2:00pm highlighting successful foreign investment projects in Taiwan by inviting representatives of the three key industry areas to share their experiences on investing in Taiwan.

The 2004 Taiwan Business Alliance Forum on the 8th will get underway with welcome remarks from Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-Yueh at the opening ceremony. Next up is Matthew F.C. Miau, Chairman of MiTAC-Synnex Group, and Frank Kern, President of IBM Asia Pacific, both of whom will be making keynote presentations in the morning. The three key industries will be the focus of separate panel discussions in the afternoon.

The panel discussion on the biotechology and pharmaceutical industry will be moderated by Johnsee Lee, President & Director of ITRI, and will focus on the competitive advantages and opportunities in Taiwan's biotech and pharmaceutical industries. Panelists will include from Taiwan Ming-Chu Hsu, President & CEO of TaiGen Biotechnology, Albert Liou, Chairman & CEO of APEX International Clinical Research, and Ellson Chen, President & Vice Chairman of Vita Genomics, as well as representatives from well-known international companies Bayer, Novartis, and Bridge Pharmaceuticals.

The IT service industry panel discussion will be moderated by Jyh-Sheng Ke, President & CEO of the Institute for Information Industry, and will focus on differentiation and innovation in Taiwan's IT services industry. Panelists will include Alice H. Chang, CEO of Cyberlink, Hilo Chen, President & CEO of Syxtex, C. J. Cherng, President & CEO of Digital United, as well as representatives from internationally recognized companies IBM, EDS and Oracle.

The Semiconductor IC design panel discussion will be moderated by Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA) President Gordon Chen and will be focusing on Taiwan's strategy of teaming up for mutual success. Panelists will include Nicky Lu, President & CEO of Etron Technology, and K.C. Shih, CEO of Global UniChip, as well as representatives from internationally well-known companies Renesas and Infineon.

The IDIC also points out that as the main goal of the Taiwan Business Alliance Forum is to promote international businesses, attract foreign investment and provide a platform for cooperation between Taiwanese and foreign companies, it has invited corporate decision-makers from the relevant key industries to attend.

In order to allow Taiwan's business community as well as the general public to gain a solid understanding of the 2004 Taiwan Business Alliance Forum event and its purpose, which is to successfully promote international business and secure foreign investment, the IDIC, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Economic Daily News and USTV have organized a pre-event seminar highlighting business cooperation between domestic and international enterprises. Representatives from Taiwan's business, government and research communities have been invited to attend, including Minister Ho, TAITRA Chairman C. J. Hsu, ITRI President Johnsee Lee, TSIA President Gordon Chen, and Taipei Computer Association Chairman Dr. Frank Huang. Discussing how Taiwan is raising its competitiveness, while also taking a look at the policies, recommendations and approaches targeting foreign investment, seminar participants will explore how to spotlight Taiwan's achievements and enable companies to engage in sustainable business in Taiwan, to create more opportunities and establish a win-win partnership between the government and the business community.

For more details please see "The 2004 Taiwan Business Alliance Forum".

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