RIYADH – Trade relations between Saudi Arabia and Taiwan continue to grow with the 1st quarter of 2013 figure already surpassing US$6.06 billion. Trade volume has reached astronomically to US$16.64 billion in 2012 from a mere US$4.64 billion in 2003. Taiwan export to Saudi Arabia has grown from US$ 361 million in 2003 to 1.85 billion in 2012. This figure for the 1st quarter of 2013 has already reached 751 US$ million. On the other hand, the figure for export from Saudi Arabia to Taiwan stood 4.28 billion in 2003 while in 2012 it reached to US$ 14.79 billion. The figure for the 1st quarter of 2013 already stands at US$ 5.3 billion. As for future cooperation, the Taipei Representative Office in Riyadh is quite upbeat about its prospects. The possibilities are immense as Saudi Arabia has been engaged in economic diversification, especially its non-oil based economy. Saudi Arabia under the visionary leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has undertaken the task of setting up of a number of Economic Cities throughout the Kingdom. This has offered a wide range of projects and thus has created some thousands of job opportunities for Saudi nationals. These projects have also helped in attracting foreign investments including that from Taiwan. Taiwan is eying for long-term economic development projects that would mutually benefit both the countries. Taiwan has a vast treasure of tourism sites and it should be attractive for both the Saudi citizens and the expats residents to plan trips over there. Some of the scenic areas are attractions near Taipei – the capital city like Museums, Hot spots and shopping areas, Taiwan night markets, Central Taiwan Highlands, Southern Taiwan Highlands, Eastern Taiwan Highlands, Taiwan snacks and fine cuisines, Taiwan specialty gifts, etc. Besides the above there are other resorts also of touristic importance, like the renowned tea plantations, natural hot springs, bike tours with internationally famous bike paths, famous golf courses, high mountains, spectacular landforms, unique ecology, butterfly, bird and fish watching, and eight distinctive national parks. There are exotic places for shopping as well namely, Taipei's Dihu Street, Ximen's Red House, the Huashan 1914 Creative Park and Sonshan Cultural and Creative Park, and Kaohsiung's Pier-2 Art Center. Lovers of Electronic goods cannot afford to miss out on a visit to Taipei's Guanghua Mall, Taichung;s Electronics, Street or Kaosiungs' 3C chain stores. In addition to the contemporary fashions and trends, Taiwan also has many historically sentimental old streets that have been revamped alongside the burgeoning creative and cultural industry to become stunning new attractions.
Taiwan also is full of romantic destinations. Many touring couples list Taiwan's romantic sunrises and sunsets and night views as the highlight of their visits. Bilateral trade between Taiwan and Saudi Arabia is getting stronger as shown by data which revealed that bilateral trade in 2012 accounted for 2.9 percent of Taiwan's total foreign trade, and Saudi Arabia remained Taiwan's 7th important trade partner – ranked as Taiwan's 5th leading import source, and 19th export destination. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia represented 39.5 percent of Taiwan's bilateral trade with GCC countries. Taiwan's major exports to Saudi Arabia include spare parts & accessories of motor vehicles, plastic products, rubber tires, textile products, steel and iron products, machinery tools & its spare parts, electrical machinery and computers and its accessories. Live fish and fresh or chilled & frozen fish has also been on the list of export items to Saudi Arabia. These are in addition to the petroleum products.. Taiwan's foreign trade peaked in 2011 and stood at US$ 589.70 billion. In 2012 it dipped a little and was at US$ 571.60 billion. Major trading partners of Taiwan are the People's Republic of China, ASEAN nations (10 members), Japan, US and EU nations – 27 members. Owing to Kingdom's strong support and stable crude oil supply, Taiwan has achieved great strides in its economic growth. Besides the major export of oil, the other main Saudi exports to Taiwan are petrochemical products, raw plastic materials, copper, aluminum, and granite. Saudi Arabia's private sectors have reaped the fruits of excellent trade relations between the two countries. Several big size Taiwanese enterprises are participating in a number of investment projects in Saudi Arabia. For example, Al-Jubail Fertilizer Company (Albayroni) was established as a joint venture between the Taiwan Fertilizer Company (TFC) and Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) with a capital outlay of $744 million. Taiwan today ranks among the world's leaders in information technology, particularly in the areas of semiconductors, flat panels, notebook computers and computer accessories. In fact, Taiwan is the world's second biggest producer of IT hardware, second only to the United States. It is the number one supplier of semiconductors, optoelectronic information and communications products, and enjoys more than 70% share of the global market. With one of the finest human resources, Taiwan today is also the world's second biggest producer of thin film transistor-liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), and the third largest maker of PC products. It ranks among the world's top three manufacturers of 34 products and is a major supplier of precision instruments, machine tools, materials and fine chemicals as well. This rich expertise could help the Kingdom realize its ambitions to enhance its scientific and technological development, diversify its domestic business expansion, and encourage private entrepreneurs. — SG
