Taiwan negli orizzonti italiani - Taiwan in Italian Horizons

Abstract

In spite of its reduced geographic surface, Taiwan is a major economic player both in Asia and worldwide, and is strongly engaged in international trade. A key sector which places Taiwan at the centre of the international trade arena is the ICT industry, which leads to a global dependency on Taiwanese high-tech companies, widely renowned for their high productivity as well as for their interest in export. Among those countries who view Taiwan as a strategic economic partner is Italy, which ranks as Taiwan’s 5th EU commercial partner and is gradually consolidating its economic presence on the island: among the most successful Italian industries currently present in Taiwan are the mechanical and pharmaceutical sectors, alongside the more popular Italian food and fashion. Although the Italian presence in Taiwan is increasingly significant, the article illustrates how it is important to overcome the information deficit present in Italy on the Taiwanese local economic reality. Ultimately, Italian investment activity in Taiwan is still lacking, together with the projection of an image of Italy as a technological and innovation power.