Premier Sean Chen attended a groundbreaking ceremony on July 3 for a second hall at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, noting that building more exhibition halls will not only meet local demands but help provide important venues for regional and international trade events.
"Today's groundbreaking marks the first step in laying a stronger foundation for Taiwan's economic future," he added.
Citing Germany as an example, Chen said the nation's prominence on the world stage after World War II is attributable not only to its small and medium-sized enterprises but also to its vibrant exhibition industry. Germany now ranks third among the world's leading exhibition-hall providers (behind the U.S. and mainland China) in terms of space, and is home to four of the world's six largest exhibition halls.
The German example shows that developing the exhibition industry can help local companies acquire new technologies, meet new trade partners, and find acquisition targets to expand business, the premier added.
"In the field of international trade, [the key to success] is not what you know but who you know," said Chen, stressing that participating in trade shows is a far more efficient means of doing business than communicating through the Internet or visiting prospective clients.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 2 will consist of nine floors and three underground floors, with three levels dedicated to exhibition space. Scheduled for completion by the end of 2015, the building will be able to accommodate 2,362 exhibition booths when it opens in 2016.
The premier expressed his appreciation to the MOEA for providing construction funding and the Taipei City Government for land, and thanked central and local governments for their cooperating in developing the exhibition industry.