Victoria Cruises to Invest in Free Economic Pilot Zone in Taiwan's Western Coastal Changhua

To drive its export-driven economy, Taiwan has been developing free economic zones as part of efforts to attract foreign direct investments (FIDs), with initial results being the New York-based Victoria Cruises Inc. having decided to invest in the newly approved free economic pilot zone of Changhua Coastal Industrial Park in Changhua County, western Taiwan.

In early October, Victoria Cruises's president, James Pi, signed a letter of intent with the Changhua County Magistrate, P.Y. Cho, to confirm the US$5 billion investment in the zone, with the signing ceremony witnessed by Pier Luigi Foschi, ex-president of Italy's Costa Cruises, world's largest cruise line, and Gbriele Cocco, senior executive vice president from Fincantieri, world's fourth-largest shipbuilder that is closely tied with Victoria Cruises. This investment becomes Taiwan's biggest FID in value since Google poured US$600 million into setting up its biggest data center in Asia in 2012.

According to Victoria Cruises, the investment will include the construction of a large cruise ship home port and beachfront tourism and recreational facilities, as well as 2 to 4 luxury cruise ships each with 100,000-plus tonnage.

On the investment, Pi commented that the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park is on Taiwan's western coast with close proximity to China and is ideal for being developed into a cruise ship port, with the other factors motivating Victoria Cruises' investment including the industrial park's convenient transportation networks, large hinterlands, and low land cost.

Pi is optimistic that the investment will help Victoria Cruises to better explore steadily growing global cruise tourism, whose  passenger traffic is expected to explosively surge 50% in the next decade from the current 20 million a year.

Following over two years of negotiations with the central government, Cho notes that Changhua County Government has eventually been approved to develop the free economic pilot zone in Changhua Coastal Industrial Park. With Victoria Cruises's investment, the county governor looks to the park to become a globally prestigious cruise port to rival Singapore's Marina Bay.

With hinterlands exceeding 1,300 hectares, Cho revealed that the free economic pilot zone is very likely to attract more investments in the short term, to be developed with more facilities and buildings for tourism, exhibitions, industry, residence and incubation.

Worth mentioning is that Victoria Cruises's investment in making large luxury cruise ships in Taiwan will likely benefit local shipbuilders, particularly CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, the island's largest shipbuilder by size. Despite lacking experience in making cruise ships, CSBC has shown interest in cooperating with Victoria Cruises, which has confirmed to introduce state-of-the-art technologies from Italy to Taiwan through the investment project, and to assess the feasibility of cruise ship construction soon. Additionally, local vessel parts suppliers and ship maintenance service providers are also expected to profit from Victoria Cruises' investment in the near future.

Officials from Ministry of Economic Affairs emphasized that Victoria Cruises' investment in Changhua Coastal Industrial Park will definitely boost development of Taiwan's shipbuilding sector, as well as the hospitality industry that is composed of hoteliers and tourism agencies, which also points to the correct direction of the government's current efforts on developing free economic zones and cruise tourism. (SC)

Overview of Free Economic Pilot Zone in Changhua Coastal Industrial Park
Location	Lunwei Dist. Of Changhua Coastal Industrial Park
Available Hinterland	1,343 hectares (about 770 hectares already developed)
Geographical Advantages	Conveniently located on  Taiwan's western coast and close to China, with convenient transportation networks of wide access roads, expressways and high-speed railway
First FDI Approved	Victoria Cruises's US$5 Bn. investment in building a cruise ship hub in Asia Pacific
Investment Scope	To build a cruise ship home port and beachfront tourism and recreational facilities, and 2 to 4 100,000-tonne luxury cruiseships

Source: Changhua County Government