Taiwan Actively Promoting Safety Industry

To beef up Taiwan' s safety and security industry, the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) are determined to jointly help the industry to tap the world market. The two government units, both of which operate under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), are planning to adopt flexible strategies to promote Taiwan' s safety and security products contingent on the needs of different markets.

The BOFT indicates that today, the safety and security industry is one of the few sectors that still maintain operations in Taiwan, although the industry is facing growing competition from neighboring countries, particularly mainland China. A senior official at BOFT remarks that Taiwan' s security industry has the advantage of the support of the island' s well-developed electronics industry and its sound network of related satellite plants. For these reasons, Taiwan' s security industry is quite competitive in the world market, even though some key parts and technologies are still in the hands of companies in South Korea and Japan.

To comply with the Cabinet' s policy of reinforcing Taiwan' s economic power, BOFT and TAITRA have in recent years spared no effort finding market niches for domestic industries. The security industry is one of the emerging industries that the government will try to boost. The BOFT has recently mapped out marketing strategies to help promote the industry, hoping to boost its production value by 10% and its exports by NT$3 billion (US$88.24 million at US$1 = NT$34) this year.

Market observers analyze that due to growing anti-terrorism sentiment around the world, the global security industry has in recent years developed very rapidly. In 2003, the industry' s global production value was merely US$15 billion, but by 2021, the value is forecast to soar to US$400 billion.

Eyeing the big pie, Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) under MOEA established last year a 'Safety and Security Industry Promotion Office' (SSIPO) to effectively assist the industry and encourage more manufacturers to join in it. Besides, SSIPO is aimed at collecting and analyzing global information for the industry as well as helping domestic manufacturers to seek more business opportunities.

IDB points out that the safety and security industry cover a wide range of products that can be roughly divided into four categories: information & telecommunication safety products, fire-fighting & industrial safety equipment, general safety equipment, and system integration & related service. Currently, Taiwan' s safety & security industry generates annual production value of more than NT$56 billion (US$1.65 billion). If the industry can post an annual growth rate of 20%, then its output may jump to NT$152.2 billion (US$4.48 billion) in 2011.

Beginning this year BOFT and TAITRA have been actively helping the industry search for overseas market niches. For relatively mature markets in the United States, Europe, and Japan, they adopt 'pull' strategy to invite potential buyers to Taiwan to directly place orders with local manufacturers. As for such emerging markets as Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Romania, and Russia, they adopt 'push' strategy to launch visits to the said countries.

Last year TAITRA led a delegation organized by safety & security product manufacturers to visit South Africa and gained US$2 million worth of orders in the following year thereafter. In May of this year, TAITRA will organize a promotion group to tap the safety market in France as the country passed anti-terrorist law at the end of 2005 that legally requires reinforcement in public safety. It is believed that more monitoring cameras and other sophisticated safety devices will be installed in public areas in France in the near future.

Moreover, TAITRA is to take Mexico, Brazil, Romania, Russia, and Poland as targets for promoting Taiwan' s safety products this year and organize promoting tours to either exhibit or demonstrate Taiwan' s products in the said countries. (JL, March 2006)