Giant denies it’s shifting supply chains away from Taiwan

Taiwanese bicycle brand Giant Manufacturing Co. on Thursday dismissed a media report that the company has demanded its suppliers in Taiwan relocate outside of the country amid cross-Taiwan Strait tension.

Giant had “thrown down the gauntlet” to some of its suppliers by ordering them to move away from Taiwan in the next two years, Will Butler-Adams, chief executive of Brompton, the United Kingdom’s largest bicycle maker, was quoted in a media report.

The British media Daily Mail Online carried the report on Jan. 4, which was originally published by The Telegraph the previous day.

Giant is not asking its suppliers to move to Europe, or change suppliers, but is rather pushing for the same suppliers to set up subsidiary companies in places such as Vietnam or Thailand, Butler-Adams told the Telegraph, according to Daily Mail.

This, Butler-Adams said, would mean the company would have the same knowledge base, but mean that they diversify away from a conflict zone, according to the newspaper.

Asked by CNA on Thursday, Ken Li (???), spokesperson of Giant Group, said he had no idea why Brompton gave media the false information, adding that there was no such request made to suppliers.

Giant Group doesn’t have a facility in Thailand and the plant in Vietnam only began operation recently, Li said.

The Telegraph said in the report that Brompton is drawing up plans to shift parts of its supply chain out of China and Taiwan as Western companies scramble to protect themselves from a possible invasion of the island.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel