Naina Batra: Thank you for expressing your interest to the Impact Investment Global Steering Group.

Audrey Tang: I’m very happy for the introduction from Ray Chen.

Audrey Tang: If you are OK with it, we will post this chat transcript for you to edit, and then we’ll publish this online for other interested stakeholders to see, if it’s OK with you.

Naina Batra: It is absolutely fine with us. That would be a really good way to get other stakeholders interested.

Audrey Tang: That’s great. The basic structure, the GSG structure, as well as Japan’s National Advisory Board draft, we have read the materials and we’re pretty interested. This a extension with the G8 network, as far as I understand.

Naina Batra: Absolutely correct. The G8 task force was disbanded and formed into the GSG so that we could include more country participations. I feel, with the interest level in Taiwan, it would be a great global forum for Taiwan to be a part of.

Naina Batra: One of the new ways of GSG looking at expanding its network is to make sure that we have a robust collaboration between government and private sector. Having your office support this is very key if we want to get Taiwan onto the GSG.

Audrey Tang: That’s great. We get to join the GSG as a country?

Naina Batra: Yes.

Audrey Tang: If this is truly multi stakeholder, then of course everybody chooses their own names, but if this multilateral, then as far as I understand there’s some concerns about One China Policy. You’re not restricted by the One China Policy?

Naina Batra: GSG is very clear that they want to look at PRC as one market, Taiwan as a separate one, and Hong Kong as a separate one.

Audrey Tang: So if we were interested in joining the executive board, then we get to join it with one representative from each market? That’s the idea?

Naina Batra: Absolutely. It would be a Taiwan representation on the executive board, and not a One China representation.

Audrey Tang: What’s GSG’s relationship with AVPN? Are you alliances or partners?

Naina Batra: We’ve actually signed an MOU with GSG. GSG is actually one of our members. As you know, with AVPN we do funding across the spectrum, so from grants, to looking at CSR support, to looking at impact investing. We support social entrepreneurs and social business from startup to scale.

Naina Batra: You know how it is. You have been very familiar with the Social Enterprise World Forum. It is important for social enterprises to have access to different types of capitals. At AVPN we try and connect them to these different pools of capital. We see impact investing as being one more type of capital.

Audrey Tang: That’s great. In Taiwan impact investing is what people very much care for, but because of regulatory and legislative lagging behind it’s not growing as fast as other Asian countries. Now we’re just cleared the most important, the Company Act. It’s not blocking the impact investing anymore, then we’re adding to it a impact investing friendly SME related law, as well as other laws in that ballpark.

Audrey Tang: Now we have the regulatory vehicles. Now what we need is the know how of how to operate those vehicles from our international counterparts. We’re naturally very much interested. We’re also having an Asia Pacific forum about social enterprises, including investment, next May. In May 5th and May the 6th.

Audrey Tang: I would also very much welcome the AVPN people, as well as GSG people to join us in the dialogue. We will have people from Hong Kong, from Korea, and maybe from Mainland, also, in order to shape the impact investing here.

Audrey Tang: Also, because what we saw in New Zealand, we think we must carry that conversation further. We chat with the SEWF, and they’re OK with us hosting a SEWF like event, maybe in partnership with them, next May.

Naina Batra: Absolutely, we would be very delighted to participate. In fact, we would love for you to also visit along with the delegation from Taiwan in AVPN, because we are now the largest convening for philanthropists and social investing across Asia.

Naina Batra: Some of the work that is happening in Taiwan, if we can share it with a larger audience across Asia that will be very useful.

Audrey Tang: I did get on a webinar along with Professor Fang. I’m very much looking forward to participating, either as a robot or in the flesh.

Audrey Tang: If it’s during the Parliamentary inquiry period it’s very difficult for me to travel in the flesh, but I look forward to participating either from afar, as a robot, or in the flesh, if it’s not the Parliamentary inquiry period.

Naina Batra: For the GSG partnership, to take it forward I am having a call with Sir Ronald Cohen, the CEO of the GSG, on 18th of December. If it is OK with you, I will then set up a call between GSG and your office so that they can talk about next steps.

Audrey Tang: Definitely.

Naina Batra: What I think we should work towards in terms of a timeline is that Sir Ronald Cohen will be in Asia in February. He is going to be in India, in Japan, and also in Korea, where they are announcing the new NAB.

Naina Batra: If we can work the timing to announce Taiwan as a new NAB, that will be excellent. We will get a lot of global publicity and we can really, really leverage his visit.

Audrey Tang: That sounds like a plan. If you need any additional material, or that we’re forming a NAB, we will need a similar draft document. Of course, I’m sure Ray would help, and help us preparing for the bid. What’s most important is that everybody else in Taiwan must feel that they are also included in this dialogue. No decision about us without us.

Audrey Tang: We have a lot of interest about potential collaboration on this regard, so we will publish this transcript. By the time that you talk with the GSG further on the agenda, we will also have the people who will look at the transcript and say that they’re also interested in this conversation.

Audrey Tang: We’ll have a more truly multi stakeholder conversation, so it’s not just something that the government’s interested, but also something that the civil society and the private sector will want to participate.

Naina Batra: Absolutely, that’s essential. We should do that so there is a much wider ownership of the idea. I also think if we form a steering committee, maybe that would help take this thing along and move it along.

Naina Batra: Maybe Ray could be part of that steering committee to manage and coordinate. That would help us, because the timeline to February is quite short. We want to make sure that this happens.

Naina Batra: AVPN is happy to support in any way, in terms of circulating the experience of other countries and how we can also help here in Asia. Maybe we can do something like that. I will also then post my meeting, circulate what else is needed and what else we need to do to complete the formalities.

Audrey Tang: Let’s both do the paperwork, then. Looking forward for the next coordination message from you. If you don’t have my email, Ray can give it to you. Feel free to include me in the further communications.

Naina Batra: Thank you. Perfect, that will be great. Thank you so much and, once again, apologies for the mix up.

Audrey Tang: No problem at all. No problem at all. Thank you so much.

Naina Batra: I look forward to meeting you when I’m next in Taiwan. I love Taiwan, so I’m going to come back soon.

Audrey Tang: Try to be here at May. We are going to have a fabulous summit then.

Naina Batra: I will love to come. I will love to come in May, for sure.

Audrey Tang: Cheers.

Naina Batra: Thank you so much. Cheers. Bye bye.