Taiwan Business Guide - Management and Business Studies Portal

INTRODUCTION
WHY Taiwan? (CONTINUED)
the Taiwan Environmental Protection
Administration (EPA) focuses on five key
areas: promoting sustainability; reducing
carbon emissions; recycling; eliminating
pollution and promoting healthy,
sustainable lifestyles.
• Financial services – Taiwan’s financial
services industry, which accounts for
10 per cent of its GDP, has changed
greatly in the past couple of decades,
becoming international and liberalised.
Currently, there are 15 financial holding
companies and 37 domestic banks in
Taiwan (3,264 branches in total). Thirty
two foreign banks have been granted
licences to date, and have established
around 140 branches in Taiwan. Some
39 securities investment trust enterprises,
23 non-life insurance companies and
29 life insurance companies currently
do business in Taiwan. UK financial
services firms active there include: HSBC,
Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays,
Schroders, Aberdeen, PCL Life and
First-Aviva (a joint venture between
First Financial Holding and Aviva). High
rates of savings and ongoing financial
liberalisation make Taiwan an attractive
market for capital. There are opportunities
for UK companies in wealth management,
foreign currency securities exchange,
pension fund management, public private
partnership and financial services training.
• Food and drink – Food and drink is the
fifth-largest industry in Taiwan and one
of its fastest-growing sectors. Some 40
per cent of goods consumed in Taiwan
are imported. The continued expansion of
‘upmarket’ supermarkets on the island has
prompted importers to look further afield
for value-added products, particularly to
European countries. Currently, over 80
per cent of the items offered by these
supermarkets are imported, creating
opportunities for UK companies in:
ready-to-eat food and drinks; alcoholic
beverages; confectionery; organic
products and health foods.
• Healthcare – Taiwan imported around
£1.1 billion of medical devices in
2010. There are many opportunities
for UK companies supplying high-end
pharmaceutical products and medical
equipment. There are also opportunities
in healthcare informatics/telecare services
and long-term care provision for the
elderly and disabled, as Taiwan is an
ageing society.
• Low carbon economy – Over the next
five years, the Taiwanese government
will invest more than £50 billion in
promoting the green economy. Fifty
pilot low carbon communities will be
selected by the end of 2011 and six low
carbon cities by 2014, as part of a plan
to reduce carbon emissions and gradually
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