Taiwan attends trade fair in Cambodia after five-year hiatus

via CAAI

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 15 (CNA) More than 40 Taiwanese firms made their debut appearance at an international industrial machinery fair in Cambodia Wednesday in an effort to expand trade and economic ties between the two countries.

The group of 44 companies, led by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), attended the Cambodia Machine Tech 2010 in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, the first time Taiwan has been represented in five years.

Cambodia is an emerging market, particularly in consumer product development, said Yeh Chi-ling, head of the TAITRA exhibition department.

In addition, there is increasing demand in Cambodia for various products, including food- and produce-wrapping facilities, plastics and rubber, Yeh added.

Yeh said she expects Taiwan's exhibits of machinery, components, information and communications technology and consumer products will find their way into the Cambodian market.

The two sides' trade value was more than US$372 million in 2009, compared with US$354 million in the first eight months of this year alone, according to statistics, which suggest that this year's total is likely to exceed that of last year. (By Tony Fang and Kendra Lin) ENDITEM/J