A Taiwanese company will start investing in a $100 million steel factory in Turkey's Kocaeli province, signaling deepening economic bilateral ties, president of Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
The investment process has begun for the factory that will employ 300 people, Walter Yeh, president of TWTC said on the sidelines of the Taiwan Business Day, which was organized to boost bilateral relations. However, he did not name the company as the process is still ongoing.
Taiwan already has a presence in Turkey, Yeh explained with Taiwan Cement Corporation having bought 40% shares of Turkey's OYAK Cimento A.S. investing $640 million last year.
Both these cement and steel investments reflect greater interaction, but he said there are many other opportunities to boost bilateral economic relations.
Bilateral trade totals around $1.8 billion, but Yeh said that the aim is to increase this to at least to $2 billion.
Smart machinery, solar cells, smart healthcare, ICT and 5G technologies are among the top sectors both countries can focus on for cooperation and investment.
Taiwanese companies view Turkey as an operation center in the region where many companies would prefer to operate from, he said.
'Turkey is an operation hub from which Africa, Middle East and Europe can easily be reached,' he added.
However, Yeh also recommended that Turkish entrepreneurs visit Taiwan to advertise their businesses, attract more investments and promote Turkey's market.
Yaser Tai-hsian Cheng, representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Mission in Ankara, also stressed the importance of Turkey's 'hub' position and noted that Taiwan became the third biggest foreign investor in Turkey last year with Taiwanese Cement Corporation's $640 million investment.
Turkey attracted $13.1 billion in foreign direct investment in 2018.
By Nuran Erkul Kaya
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr