TAITRA Plans to Organize a Construction Group to
Visit Oil-Rich Nations in Middle East in Oct.

Taipei, Aug. 31, 2006 (CENS)--Seeing the potential construction markets in oil-rich countries in Middle East, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the government-funded trade promoter, is planning to organize a construction group to visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the two emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October of this year.

Besides, TAITRA is also eyeing the construction market in Lebanon, which was recently attacked by its neighboring rival--Israel. TAITRA believes in the potential of the construction market in Lebanon in the wake of wide-spread damage from Israeli bombing. TAITRA had intended to lead a group to explore the construction market in Lebanon as soon as the fighting with Israel ends.

TAITRA disclosed that the Middle East-bound group would be composed of participants from not only the construction industry, but also such industries as financial services and building materials. Those in the construction industry having decided to join the group include the Continental Engineering Corp., CTIC Corp., RSEA Engineering Corp., and Kung Sing Engineering Corp.; while the First Commercial Bank, Industrial Bank of Taiwan and Land Bank have also applied to be in the group.

TAITRA emphasized that Taiwan has to tap into any business opportunity in the global market before it’s too late. In the past several decades, Taiwan has cultivated a number of capabilities in the construction and public engineering sectors, as well as having developed related machinery and facilities, whereby such skills and facilities can be applied to other markets, particularly in oil-rich countries in the Middle East.

In recent years, Taiwan’s construction firms have been actively expanding their overseas markets. In addition to having footholds in North America and India, Continental Engineering has established an office in Dubai in June of this year, hoping to win construction jobs there. CTIC recently won a construction job from a Saudi Arabian firm, while its construction contract value for this year is targeted at NT$52 billion (US$1.58 billion at US$1 = NT$33).

Other than the Middle East, TAITRA has also made India and Vietnam, two emerging economic powers in Asia, targets for overseas market promotion this year and has completed and future plans to take trade promotion groups to such countries.