Taiwan vendors to join online shopping festival in Malaysia

Taipei, Sept.24 (CNA) Taiwanese vendors will take part in an upcoming online shopping festival organized by authorities in Malaysia, making Taiwan the first foreign country to join the online sales campaign, the Commerce Development Research Institute (CDRI) said Tuesday.

The MYCYBERSALE ASIA, which has been expanded from the previous MYCYBERSALE to include Taiwanese vendors, is scheduled to kick off on Sept. 27 and run through Oct. 3, according to the CDRI, one of the leading economic think tanks in Taiwan.

Taiwanese vendors will be part of the Taiwan Pavilion at the expanded shopping festival, featuring about 2,000 brands, including e-commerce operators PCHome and Books.com, beauty product vendor Allyoung, biotech firm Ejia, Jia Chi Wan stick rice provider and Sheriff Tea Egg, the CDRI said.

The Taiwanese vendors are expected to sell about 10,000 products across a wide range including Taiwanese foods, cosmetics, skin care, fashion items, and home products, the CDRI added.

The CDRI was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to establish a link between Taiwanese vendors and the online shopping campaign in Malaysia and organize a Taiwanese delegation to run the Taiwan Pavilion.

According to an estimate by the CDRI, these Taiwanese brands are expected to generate more than NT$100 million (US$3.23 million) in sales from the event.

At a news conference, Li Mei (李鎂), head of the MOEA's Department of Commerce, said many Taiwanese brands have excellent products but unfortunately do not know how to market them, especially in the global market.

The ministry is determined to help those brands find ways to sell their products and the upcoming online shopping festival in Malaysia is a good platform to extend their reach, Li said.

CDRI Chairman Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) said the participation of Taiwanese vendors in the online shopping festival shows the success of the government's New Southbound Policy.

The flagship policy was launched by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2016 with the goal of reducing Taiwan's economic dependence on China and building stronger links with South and Southeast Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.

Hsu said the markets in Taiwan and Malaysia are complementary so Taiwanese vendors are expected to benefit from their involvement in the event.

The Malaysian online shopping festival has been held since 2014, when total revenue totaled about NT$500 million, and sales have grown by about 20 percent each year to hit NT$2.9 billion in 2018, according to the CDRI.