Companies with appropriate business models have continued to be viable. Most of the leading international companies that were once active in Taiwan’s life insurance industry have long since exited the market. The list includes Aegon, Aetna, ING, Manulife, MetLife, New York Life, and Winterthur. Now it appears likely that one of the few remaining major…
An annual report lists Taiwan-related trade issues being followed in Washington. Early each year, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) releases a country-by-country Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. The nine-page Taiwan section for 2020 provides a concise statement of the main areas of U.S.-government concern regarding elements of the bilateral trade relationship. Taiwan’s…
As Taiwan society ages, this challenging condition is becoming more prevalent. With the rapid rise in the proportion of elderly people in the Taiwan population, one of the medical conditions that will require increased attention is osteoporosis. A progressive skeletal disease characterized by decreased bone density and weakened bone tissue, osteoporosis frequently leads to falls…
AmCham’s Pharmaceutical Committee has suggestions. Year after year, a key concern of the major pharmaceutical companies operating in Taiwan is the ease with which new drugs and new indications (meaning new applications for existing treatments) can enter the market. Given Taiwan’s single-payer universal healthcare system, much depends on whether the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA)…
Going through the magazine archives is a reminder of what has changed – and what hasn’t – over the past half-century in the Taiwanese economy and environment for multinational business. This is the 434th issue of TOPICS magazine published by AmCham Taipei. Launched as a bimonthly publication in November 1970 – half a century ago this year – the magazine was then known…
If not for TOPICS, much of AmCham Taipei’s past – including the story of the Chamber’s founding – would likely be unknown to us. In fact, aside from what was later written about in the magazine, very little information survives about the organization’s activities and leadership from the period before TOPICS began publication in late 1970. Fortunately, details of…
In the first half of 1979, two separate articles in TOPICS – covering a total of 12 pages in the magazine – provided advice from medical professionals on how to cope with job stress. No doubt influencing the editor’s choice of subject matter was that this period – immediately following the break in diplomatic relations…
AmCham committees have the chance to interact with the appropriate government agencies. When AmCham Taipei released its 2017 Taiwan White Paper, it expressed regret that not a single one of the 80 issues cited in the previous year’s edition as detriments to the investment climate had been completely resolved. Fortunately, AmCham’s concern was shared by…
As 2019 draws to a close without the achievement of several hoped-for advances in regulatory procedures for medical devices, multinational companies in the sector are looking to the new year for some significant breakthroughs. Topping the wish list is passage of the draft Medical Devices Act, which would create dedicated legislation to govern the industry…
Most of AmCham Taipei’s member companies in the medical device field are sales and marketing arms of the world’s major multinational, especially American, brands. The profiles below introduce two member companies that are exceptions in that their forte is manufacturing, with Taiwan as their main base. As private companies they don’t disclose their financial information,…
