A revamped government organization stresses dedication to helping companies solve problems. From early this year, the government agencies dealing with investment matters have been brought together under a new umbrella organization, InvesTaiwan, characterized by a logo featuring a stalk of grain, symbolizing the fertility of Taiwan’s business environment. Three agencies of the Ministry of Economic…
Investigations Continue of Railway Accident In the worst railroad accident in Taiwan in many years, 18 passengers were killed and nearly 200 injured when a Puyama Express train jumped the tracks in Yilan County, overturning five of the eight cars. It appeared that the train was going at too high a speed around a curve,…
More Mixed Signals The release of Taiwan’s September trade figures brought some good news – a record monthly level for exports – but any exuberance was dimmed by uncertainties about the potential impact of the “trade war” being waged between the United States and China, given the large number of Taiwanese enterprises with production facilities…
Vice President Chen Received by the Pope Leading a delegation to the Holy See to attend canonization ceremonies for Pope Paul VI and others, Vice President Chen Chien-jen was received by Pope Francis at Castel Gandolfo, the former Papal summer residence. Chen said Pope Francis sent his regards to President Tsai Ing-wen and said he…
In recent years, Dan Silver played a central role in the AmCham Taipei leadership. Besides serving as Chairman in 2016, he fulfilled two two-year terms as a member of the Board of Governors (2014-2017) and at different times was a co-chair of two committees, Medical Devices and Public Health. A graduate of Brandeis University in…
Indications from a recent conference are that the welcome mat is back out. Private-equity financing in Taiwan appears poised to make a comeback. For a time more than a decade ago, leading global PE firms played an active role in the Taiwan market, investing in major deals in such industries as cable television and financial…
Some of the multinational company’s busiest stores in the world are located in Taiwan. Among the 759 Costco stores in the United States and 10 other countries and regions, the operation in central Taiwan’s Taichung ranks at the very top in the number of members and is second in the world in sales volume (the…
Foxconn Pursues More Wisconsin Initiatives Foxconn Technology Group, known in Taiwan as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is following up its planned US$10 billion investment in Wisconsin to build an LCD-panel plant with several additional commitments in the Mid-Western state. At a ceremony in late August at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Foxconn CEO Terry Gou…
The government seems receptive to the idea of greater flexibility in public-project contracts. In each of the last two editions of AmCham Taipei’s annual Taiwan White Paper, the Chamber’s Infrastructure & Engineering Committee encouraged the government to make use of an option called “alternative methodology” when tendering public infrastructure projects. Increasingly common in other construction…
Positive Indications on the Trade Front Given Taiwan’s heavy reliance on international trade for its economic momentum, the past several weeks brought some encouraging news. Announcement of Taiwan’s trade figures for July showed that exports had continued to increase for the fifth consecutive month. At US$29.36 billion, export value in July was 4.7% higher than…
