02.CEP
04/21/10  19:17:02
Hubei businessmen sign 35 purchase agreements
    Taipei,  April  21  (CNA)  Representatives  of major  businesses,
including Wuhan Bluestar Computer and Wushang Bulksale,  from central
China's Hubei Province,  signed 35 procurement  agreements with local
businessmen Wednesday.
    With Hubei Province aiming to become "China's optics valley," the
purchases  mainly involved  electronic  parts such as flat panels and
LEDs.
    Representatives  from the Jointown Pharmaceutical  Group,  one of
the top 500 businesses in China,  noted that Taiwan excels in biotech
medicine and medical equipment,  and the group signed a purchase deal
worth US$15 million with a local biotech firm.
    Jointown  also  expressed  hope  that  it  will  be able  to sell
Chinese herbal medicines to Taiwan.
    Delphi Hubei, meanwhile,  purchased nearly US$10 million-worth of
automotive electronic diodes from Taiwan's Actron Technology Corp.
    Hubei buyers also included the Wuhan Zhongbai Group and the Wuhan
Zhongnan   Commercial   Group,   whose  purchases   were  focused  on
agricultural products and daily necessities.
    Taiwanese businessmen  attending the purchase meetings recognized
the importance of Hubei's geographic location and expressed hope that
they  will  be able  to use the  province  as a stepping  stone  into
China's domestic market.
    A total of 36 manufacturers  from Hubei Province took part in the
procurement meetings.
    Yang Fang,  an official of the Wuhan Hanshang  Group,  said there
are  not  many  Taiwanese  products  available  in  Wuhan  City,  the
provincial  capital,  and that what is available  is mainly  sold  in
supermarkets.
    Yang said it was her first procurement  visit to Taiwan,  and she
expressed  particular  interest  in beauty care products  such as red
cypress essential oil, red cypress shampoo and facial masks,  because
such products are uncommon  in Wuhan and people generally  have to go
to beauty parlors to buy them.
    She suggested that Taiwanese businesses  should establish  agents
in China to help Chinese  buyers  who want to discuss  business  with
them.
    The procurement  meetings  were part of the seventh  Taiwan-Hubei
(Wuhan)  week  that  opened  in  Taipei  a  day  earlier,   in  which
participants   were  hoping  to  expand  commercial,   technological,
cultural and agriculture exchanges between Taiwan and central western
China.
    In a related development, meanwhile,  a Taiwan-Hubei (Wuhan) Week
Cultural Exhibition opened in Taipei Wednesday.
    Luo Qingquan,  secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the
Communist Party of China,  Taiwan's opposition New Party Chairman Yok
Mu-ming,  former  Straits  Exchange  Foundation  Vice Chairman  Chiao
Jen-ho,  as well as Chinese painter Zhou Shaohua and Taiwanese artist
Li Chi-mao, attended the opening ceremony.
    Luo was leading a 1,000-strong delegation from Hubei that arrived
April  19  to  enhance  exchanges  between  Hubei  and  Taiwan.   The
delegation  is expected  to make  purchases  worth  more  than US$500
million during the visit.
(By Feng Chao, Kuo Mei-lan, Cheng Chin-wen and Lilian Wu)
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