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Taiwan, Taiwan businesses seen positively by Thai executives: survey

Taiwan and Taiwanese businesses in Thailand have among the most positive images of any of the country’s top 11 foreign investors, along with Japan and the United States, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday.

The survey, conducted by the government-funded Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF) of 121 Thai company executives, found that 90 percent of respondents said they had a positive impression of Taiwan.

Another 70 percent said Taiwan is known for its “respect of the rule of law, advanced medical system and friendliness,” according to Kristy Hsu (???), a TAEF senior research fellow responsible for the survey.

Over 90 percent of respondents identified “advanced technologies, innovation, delicious food, and the ICT industry,” as among the characteristics that shaped their image of Taiwan, she said.

The survey, based on questionnaires answered by the Thai corporate executives earlier this year, also probed the executives’ impressions of Thailand’s 10 other major foreign investor countries and their businesses.

It found that the foreign investor country/region in Thailand with the best image among respondents was Japan, followed by Taiwan and then the United States.

The top three were followed by Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Australia, Singapore, Netherlands, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Taiwanese businesses were also seen positively by the survey’s respondents, having the second most favorable image behind U.S. businesses.

Japanese businesses ranked third, followed by enterprises from Hong Kong, China, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Netherlands, Indonesia, and Malaysia, Hsu said.

Meanwhile, over 65 percent of respondents also approved of the long-term contributions of Taiwanese businesses in creating job opportunities and introducing innovative technologies in Thailand.

Given the impact of COVID-19 on Thailand and Taiwan’s positive image in combating the pandemic, 99 percent of respondents said they are now more willing to collaborate with Taiwanese businesses and anticipate further economic and tourism cooperation in the future, Hsu said.

The survey also revealed, however, that Taiwanese businesses did not receive the same level of recognition for participating in social welfare events, ensuring equal promotion opportunities, and implementing environmental protection policies, according to Hsu.

Established in May 2018, the TAEF is a government-founded think tank focused on exchanges and collaboration with South and Southeast Asian countries.

It conducted similar surveys in Vietnam and Indonesia in 2019 and 2020 respectively, which also found largely positive impressions of Taiwan and Taiwanese businesses among executives in those countries.

TAEF Executive Director Alan Yang (??) said the annual survey is meant to better understand the perspective these countries have of Taiwan and Taiwanese businesses so that the government and business sector can better promote themselves and their image.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel