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Early december the new export development plan was being presented before the Phillipine House of Representatives. Centerpiece of the strategy unfolded in the new plan is industry clustering.

Washington State's governor, Gary Locke, is currently promoting Bio21, a plan that would pledge $250 million to the further development of their biotech industry. Locke hopes to have matching funds from private donors like Microsoft and Amgen, but has yet to reveal all sources of funding.

During the seventies textiles were Korea's number one export item accounting for nearly half of total exports. Since then the numbers have decreased to only one quarter of what they were some thirty years ago. For some time Korean textile companies pondered how they might weave a stronger future for the industry, now it seems their thoughts have been answered ... by the WTO.

The lower costs associated with open source systems have led to more companies, particularly SMEs, opting for Linux based servers and programs. Growing high tech markets like India have seen a shift towards open systems, with upwards of 30% of all servers sold in the country being Linux based.

The Wisconsin Department of Commerce maintains an updated database of their medical devices cluster as well as planned cluster development in other related fields. A recent article in a state newspaper, highlighted the case of the Marshfield area within the state that was adopting planned growth in the medical field as early as 20 years ago.

With their induction into the EU nearing, Latvia presents a great opportunity for the implementation and development of cluster policy. Being located between Scandinavia, Russia and large EU economies (Germany, Poland), Latvia is in an enviable position; one that should put them at the crossroads of increased trade for several years to come.

Broadcom Corp. recently revealed its plans to build a new $800 million R&D center in Taiwan. This is not only a significant financial boost to Taiwan?s high-tech chip cluster, but it marks a major advance for the region ? as this will be the first facility of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region.

One of the most popular events of the conference was the preparatory course, which was being offered again in Gothenburg. This half day programme offered insights to both newcomers and more experienced practitioners.

Michael Porter gave a keynote address to close the end of TCIs 6th Annual Conference. The presentation outlined the economic reasoning behind cluster strategy and how it has been greatly developed over recent years, helping make cluster-based approaches a widely accepted strategy for economic development.

A selection of pictures taken during the conference.