Taipei, Sep. 5 (CNA) Taiwan should transform itself from the so-called "silicon island" of the 1990s to a "brand value-added island" by 2015 for sustainable economic growth, Acer Group founder Stan Shih said in an international forum Tuesday.
The cultivation of brand economy, a synonym of knowledge economy, will make a value-added Taiwan and help create the second wave of "Taiwan miracle, " Shih said in the opening lecture of the Branding Taiwan forum, a part of the 2006 Branding Taiwan campaign.
Based on the "smiling curve" concept he submitted in 1992, Shih said Taiwan will have to be a global value-added service center in the future, with focus on the 3Bs -- global bridge, global brand and global brain.
"The knowledge economy is the brand economy, " he said, adding that brand is the most cost-effective property right.
"And education and vertical integration will be the keys in branding, " he went on.
"Competitiveness equals value divided by cost. We have been trying to 'cost-down' in the past and were pretty successful. But now is the time to work on increasing values, " said Shih, who in 1976 founded Acer Group, one of the most successful Taiwanese global brands.
Branding Taiwan can start with four major categories: digital technology products; fine food/flower/fruits; leisure-related products and culture-related products such as art, charity and medical care, Shih said.
Taiwanese government and corporations have devoted a lot of effort to innovation, but efforts in branding have been lacking, Shih said.
Regarding the potential of branding, Shih said Taiwanese traditional industries are even more promising than the high-tech sector in terms of developing global brands.