With a career spanning finance, technology, and market research, Chris Cottorone, president of TriOrient Investments and co-chair of AmCham Taiwan’s Private Equity Committee, has been deeply engaged in Taiwan’s business and investment landscape for nearly two decades. TriOrient Investments is a private institutional investor that has been active in Asian markets since 2010.
Cottorone’s career is marked by his ability to navigate complex financial environments, blending expertise in capital markets with insights gained from his diverse experience. A graduate of National Chengchi University’s International MBA program, Cottorone has spent much of the past four decades living and working in Asia.
TOPICS Senior Editor Julia Bergström sat down with Cottorone in mid-February to discuss Taiwan’s private equity and investment climate, factors shaping the market, and the evolving role of foreign capital in Taiwan’s economy. An abridged version of their conversation follows.
How did you end up working with investments in Taiwan?
I first came to Asia in the late 1980s, spending time in Beijing before moving to Taiwan in 1991. After attending graduate school, I returned in 1996 and spent a decade in the tech industry, specializing in internet and networking. My team even built AmCham Taiwan’s website, my first connection to the Chamber.
I worked with both foreign and local companies, including a Powerchip Semiconductor subsidiary focused on software, leading their global web development team. Wanting to shift from engineering to management, I pursued an MBA at National Central University. Around that time, a longtime friend and founder of an investment research firm suggested I join his team as a researcher. In 2008, I transitioned into finance – just in time for the global financial crisis. The role required early mornings, starting at 3 a.m., to produce market reports for investment banks like Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. I’ve been with the group ever since.
In 2010 or 2011, the same friend launched his own investment fund, a single-family office. He invited me to shift from the sell side to the buy side, evaluating companies and investment opportunities. But I quickly realized I preferred market research over Taipei’s traffic. Since they struggled to replace me in my early-morning role, I decided to stay in research. My schedule became structured: start at 3 a.m. to continue to oversee the research team while they completed their market reports by 7 a.m. and then spend the rest of the day using the analysis when visiting firms that were potential investment targets. It turned out to be the perfect fit.
How did the financial crisis shape your view of risk management?
It was an interesting time, to say the least. People were leaving, and firms were collapsing. Seeing Lehman Brothers go under was surreal. I remember going in at 3 a.m. with the senior guys, researching, translating company announcements, and watching the news roll in on Bloomberg. Then suddenly, headlines would flash, and I’d ask, “Is that normal?” The answer, of course, was no.
Having lived through the dot-com bubble, I recognized the signs of another crisis unfolding. Fortunately, we focused on emerging markets, so we weren’t directly exposed to the U.S. downturn. Still, it was a wake-up call. That experience taught me that you need to ask the right questions: What are the policies? What’s the long-term strategy? How will this impact the market down the road? Without that foresight, you risk getting caught in cycles that have lasting consequences.
Now, I try to think beyond the hype when I look at trends like cryptocurrency or AI. What happens in five or ten years? It’s easy to say, “Who would have thought?” after the fact, but the reality is that everyone should be thinking ahead.
What role do family offices play in Taiwan’s investment landscape?
Family offices, like families, are all unique. Our office prioritizes capital preservation over aggressive profit-making, focusing on stable, low-risk investments in Taiwan’s well-regulated financial system. In many ways, we operate more like an asset management firm than a private equity fund.
Taiwan’s investment landscape is currently dominated by stocks, bonds, ETFs, and real estate, but stocks are volatile, and real estate is illiquid. Family offices could help foster more sustainable economic growth. A significant hurdle is that Taiwan lacks clear regulations defining family offices, making it difficult to quantify their presence or attract investment. Many Taiwanese businesses historically moved wealth offshore – in fact, private offshore holdings here are estimated at 20%, double the global average – largely due to past restrictions on investing in China.
Taiwan needs a legal framework that encourages family offices to invest domestically. These investors bring capital, but they also have deep industry expertise and a long-term outlook, which Taiwan’s economy needs.
How would you assess Taiwan’s private equity market growth potential?
One major challenge is Taiwan’s tightly integrated supply chain. In semiconductors alone, TSMC relies on more than 600 suppliers. Allowing foreign private equity firms to acquire and restructure key suppliers could destabilize entire industries. Taiwan’s economic self-preservation, combined with Taiwan’s geopolitical isolation, has made the government hesitant to open the market to foreign private equity.
But change is coming. Taiwan’s first-generation business leaders are retiring, and many of their successors are uninterested in taking over their family enterprises. As a result, some companies are stagnating and shifting focus to passive investments rather than industry growth. Although consolidation is necessary, Taiwanese business culture makes mergers and acquisitions more complicated – many businesses are still family-owned, and their owners are hesitant to sell because of legacy concerns.
Still, Taiwanese companies need capital to expand and compete. Foreign private equity firms have access to global capital and expertise and can step in to ensure businesses are sold at fair market value rather than at reduced valuations. Although concerns remain about firms leveraging acquisitions for short-term gains, Taiwan’s labor market makes mass layoffs impractical. Private equity firms investing in Taiwan will need to work collaboratively with businesses rather than dismantling them. If implemented correctly, private equity could be valuable for Taiwan’s evolving economy.
How can AmCham Taiwan help improve Taiwan’s business landscape?
When you’re a foreign professional in Taiwan, you automatically take on an unpaid, 24/7 role as a spokesperson both for your country in Taiwan and for Taiwan to people back home. A lot of visitors arrive expecting a high-risk environment, thinking Taiwan is on the brink of conflict, only to be surprised by the stability and economic dynamism they see firsthand. Our job is to correct those misconceptions and provide accurate information about Taiwan. This is where AmCham plays a crucial role – not just in advocacy but also in information dissemination. We help shape the narrative about Taiwan in international business circles.
One of the key aspects of our work is advocacy. We produce an annual White Paper and meet regularly with government officials and regulators to discuss policy issues. But our committees are no longer just advocating for better policies in Taiwan – we’re also working to influence policies back home on issues like double taxation or Taiwan’s inclusion in international financial institutions like the IMF. This dual role of engaging both Taiwan’s policymakers and international stakeholders makes AmCham a critical bridge for businesses operating in Taiwan.
Do you foresee ESG factors continuing to influence investments in Taiwan?
Taiwan’s reliance on limited natural resources and its manufacturing-driven economy make ESG efforts essential. The semiconductor sector, Taiwan’s largest and most highly resource-intensive, underscores this need – hence TSMC’s firm commitment to ESG for long-term viability.
ESG is crucial for compliance, risk management, and competitiveness, but its rapid adoption has led to inconsistencies. ESG was never about stock prices but about addressing real business risks. We need clearer frameworks to ensure accountability and comparability.
Taiwan has made notable progress in managing ESG initiatives, which are now integral to reputation and securing global contracts. This shift has spurred ESG-focused industries, with companies developing carbon-tracking software and sustainability tools. The government has also been highly supportive, recognizing ESG’s role in maintaining Taiwan’s global competitiveness.
If you could implement one major reform to strengthen Taiwan’s financial sector, what would it be?
The government launched a financial management zone in Kaohsiung last year and invited AmCham and other stakeholders to discuss policy improvements. This development is encouraging, but if Taiwan wants to transition from being a financial laggard to an actual growth driver, the key reform is allowing investors to operate without constantly converting their money into New Taiwan dollars.
In global financial hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong, London, and New York, investors can transact in multiple currencies without mandatory conversions. Taiwan’s requirement to exchange funds for local currency creates an unnecessary barrier. Allowing financial transactions in various currencies would make Taiwan a far more attractive destination for international capital and investment. It would also ease pressure on the Central Bank, which currently acts as the lender of last resort and must carefully manage foreign exchange controls.
This is where coordinated efforts between Taiwan, AmCham, and the U.S. government become essential. A bill is being considered to support Taiwan’s entry into the IMF. Pushing forward with both initiatives would be a major step toward integrating Taiwan more fully into the global financial system.
What do you do when you’re not working?
My life revolves around two things – work and family. When I do have downtime, I like to read, especially history and geopolitical books. That’s been a passion of mine since my undergraduate days, and I still focus on it today. I also keep up with sports, mainly ice hockey and European football.
Whenever I travel with my family, I always bring my computer and get up early because work doesn’t stop. But whether I’m traveling, reading, or keeping up with sports, if I’m not working, I’m with my family. That works out well, as I’ve seen that Taiwan has always been a family-oriented place where the people work hard.
