IDB sets up office to promote Taiwan's safety industry

Taipei, July 15, 2005 (CENS)--The Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has set up a ‘Safety and Security Industry Promotion Office' (SSIPO) to more effectively promoting such industry.

IDB has regarded the safety and security industry as one of the emerging industries that can enjoy incentives offered by the government for priority development. With the privileges, IDB believed that the industry might attract more makers to get involved in.

The new office is located in the building of Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER), which is commissioned by IDB to run the office. Vice Premier and former president of TIER Wu Rong-I is now also chairman of the Safety and Security Industry Association, who emphasizes that the safety and security industry has become more and more important as the world is facing growing threat from terrorists, particularly after 911 terrorist attacks on the United States.

IDB officials pointed out that the safety and security industry can be roughly divided into four categories: information & telecommunication safety products, fire-fighting & industrial safety equipment, general safety equipment, and system integration & related service. And SSIPO is aimed at collecting and analyzing global information for the industry as well as helping domestic manufacturers seek for more business opportunities in the area.

A report released by TIER disclosed that the market for safety check equipment on large commodities saw a whopping growth in the U.S. after the 911 terrorist attacks. The annual market value of such equipment in the U.S. was around US$60 million, which is expected to soar to US$750 million in 2006. The figure is predicted to shoot up to US$1.4 billion in 2010.

Insiders indicated that Taiwan's safety industry generated a production value of more than NT$30 billion (US$882.35 million at US$1 = NT$34) last year. In the same year, Taiwan recorded NT$28.8 billion (US$847.1 million) in exports and around NT$13.8 billion (US$405.77 million) in domestic sales of such products.

TIER urged Taiwan's manufacturers to further explore the market in the future. It suggested that domestic high-tech makers should develop sophisticated memory chips for electronic bar codes and intelligence explosion-proof containers to meet the rising market demand for such products.