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The Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs is working in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippines to co-host the "APEC O2O Forum: Embracing Digital Transformation for the Next Paradigm Shift in the O2O Platform" on 28 October in Makati City, the Philippines. The forum not only sustains the momentum of digital innovation in APEC, but echoes the 2019 APEC priorities "Digital Society" and "Women, SMEs and Inclusive Growth".

The forum focuses on "Challenges and Opportunities for MSMEs in Digital Transformation" and "O2O Platform Power: Unlocking the Value of Digital Transformation". Through this cross-border platform, mentoring session, and the best practice showcasing, SMEs can catch the trend of the digital economy. In addition, Chinese Taipei and the Philippines are reinforcing their in-depth cooperation via this forum, and helping APEC SMEs to reach inclusive and sustainable growth in the digital economy era.

　　In view of the importance of the SME digital transformation, Chinese Taipei has proposed the APEC O2O Initiative with a 4-year framework since 2016. This year, Chinese Taipei co-implements the "4th APEC O2O Initiative: Empowering SMEs to Embrace Digital Transformation" with the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Chile. A series of five O2O events have been held in different APEC economies, and this event in Makati City is the last one of the year.

Focusing on Cross-Border E-Commerce, Creating an Inclusive and Sustainable Future
Ms. Wen-Ling Su, Deputy Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration and Ms. Blesila A. Lantayona, Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippines, gave opening remarks at the APEC O2O Forum. Ms. Wen-Ling Su appreciates the Philippines' support for the 4th O2O Initiative and stresses that digital transformation means not uncertainty, but the opportunity for a shared digital future. Sustaining the momentum of promoting digital transformation and strengthening digital resilience, both sides will strongly commit to deepening bilateral cooperation. 

Officials from APEC member economies, representatives from multinational enterprises and best-practice startups are attending this forum, which is composed of two panel discussions: "Local-to-Global & Global-to-Local: The Future of O2O Platform Economics" and "O2O Platform Power: Unlocking the Value of Digital Transformation". The panel discussions will focus on "product delivery and know-how fulfillment in the path to cross-border E-Commerce" and "Solutions to hire digitally educated, digitally talented, and change-embracing employees". In addition, the afternoon mentoring session will not only release the potential, but also increase the competitiveness of startups from APEC member economies such as Chinese Taipei, Russia and the Philippines. 

The forum in the Philippines marks the perfect end of the 4th APEC O2O Initiative. In order to deepen the cooperation with APEC member economies, SMEA will continue deepening the interactions with friendly partners and construct an ideal environment for SMEs. 

For further details, or to arrange possible media interviews, please contact:
Ms. Wen-Ling Su
Deputy Director General, Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, MOEA
02-2368-0816#203
wenling@moea.gov.tw

Ms. Hsin-Yi Tseng
Section Chief, Policy Planning Division, Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, MOEA
02-2366-2251
thy@moea.gov.tw