The Taiwanese telecommunications giant Chungwa Telecom has settled in Frankfurt am Main. The reason for the company's decision is the central location of the Frankfurt RheinMain region in Germany and Europe. The relocation was made possible with the support of FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH International Marketing of the Region in close co-operation with the Frankfurt Economic Development Agency.
Mike Josef, Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of FRM GmbH: ‘Frankfurt is Germany's digital capital with the world's largest internet hub. Together with the region, we are one of Europe's leading locations for IT and telecommunications. It is home to industry giants as well as small and medium-sized companies specialising in niche products. This move shows that we are excellently positioned as a base for companies in the IT and telecommunications sector.’
Chungwa Telecom is the largest telecoms provider in Taiwan. The company offers mobile, fixed-line and internet services as well as information and communication technology services for corporate customers. Chungwa Telecom was founded in 1996 as part of the Taiwanese government's privatisation efforts and currently employs almost 20,000 people worldwide. The company was listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 2000 and on the New York Stock Exchange in 2003. Chungwa Telecom launched Taiwan's first 5G network in 2020. According to its own information, Chungwa has shares in 27 submarine cables worldwide as well as 57 Internet points of presence (POPs - access points from a specific location to the rest of the Internet) in 15 countries and eight overseas data centres. Chungwa Telecom is also planning to lay an undersea cable between Taiwan and Germany.
The new location in Frankfurt is linked to the company's largest customer: The semiconductor group TSMC is currently building a factory in Dresden. Taiwan would also like to bring suppliers to Germany in order to support these companies in setting up their supply chains as early as possible.
FRM GmbH visited Chungwa Telecom in Taipei on 21 June 2024 together with Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce President Ulrich Caspar as part of a joint delegation trip to Taiwan: ‘We are very strongly positioned in Asia with our expertise as well as our own offices and representatives. The initial contact with Chungwa Telecom also came about through our representative in the AHK Taipei. We offer Asian companies ideal conditions for setting up their German or European headquarters. In addition to the pronounced internationality, the excellent global connections ensure short distances. The good flight connections to Taipei make our region the ideal starting point for Taiwanese companies to enter the market,’ says Eric Menges, President & CEO of FRM GmbH.
FRM GmbH supported Chungwa Telecom in its first steps towards establishing a branch in Frankfurt in close co-operation with the Frankfurt Economic Development Agency. The Asia team was available to the company as a contact partner in every phase of the relocation process and supported the telecoms company with all questions relating to the establishment of the company and established contact with suitable business networks.