Chemical manufacturers in Taiwan are concerned that new rules requiring the disclosure of hazardous substances in their products could compromise confidential business information (CBI). In November 2018, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) published an amendment to the Regulations for the Labeling and Hazard Communication of Hazardous Chemicals that requires disclosure of the substance’s Chemical Abstract…
Despite global economic headwinds, some makers in the sub-sector are continuing to perform well. Taiwan has been steadily moving into specialty chemicals in a bid to move up the global industry value chain. Specialty chemicals are sold based on their function or performance instead of composition. They often are designed to impact one specific aspect…
Given environmental pressures and limited scale, the sector sees just two options: move into specialty chemicals or invest overseas. Despite environmental and other challenges, Taiwan’s chemical sector continues to thrive. In 2018, the industry was forecast to grow by 4.88% – the highest growth rate of any industry in Taiwan – to reach NT$4.68 trillion…
The state-owned company looks to invest in high-value-added chemicals and green projects at home while exploring upstream opportunities overseas. The CPC Corp. was established in Shanghai as the Chinese Petroleum Corp. in 1946 and relocated to Taiwan three years later. The state-owned firm plays a crucial role in ensuring Taiwan’s energy security, and is also…
Amended transportation regulations could cripple the ride-hailing giant’s Taiwan business, sending a worrying message about the investment climate. Uber has struggled in East Asia. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing giant burned through billions of dollars battling China’s Didi Chuxing before bowing out of the Chinese market in 2016. It never gained a foothold in Japan or…
The home-sharing company’s business has grown steadily while it has largely dodged penalties for hosting unlicensed properties on its platform. For years, Airbnb and Taiwanese regulators have been playing a cat-and-mouse game. Local regulations limit short-stay accommodation rentals to licensed hotels or inns, but most Taiwan properties listed on the home-sharing platform do not meet…
Tech firms are repatriating from tariff-hit China, boosting the local economy. But can Taiwan secure a long-term position in global supply chains? For years, it was a foregone conclusion that Taiwan’s tech hardware sector would concentrate production in China. Starting in the 1990s, local contract electronics manufacturers began moving capacity across the Taiwan Strait. They…
Specialty coffee shops have sprung up on nearly every street corner in recent years. Can they thrive in a traditional tea-drinking culture? Nobody seems quite sure when Taipei’s love affair with specialty coffee shops began. The pioneers have been around for more than a decade: Woolloomooloo, Rufous Coffee, and of course Cama, which has more…
Regulating STOs could provide a new equity fundraising channel for startups, but questions remain about the utility of the new rules. Just a few years ago, some virtual currency advocates were suggesting that Taiwan could become a hub for all things crypto in Asia. Given the conservative nature of Taiwan’s financial industry, the thought of…
Internet-only banks could potentially serve a credit-strapped young demographic that prefers to bank online, but what will be the effect on an already saturated banking sector? Taiwan is overbanked. Its 37 banking institutions operate roughly 5,000 branches for a population of about 23 million people. Because the sector’s US$1.6 trillion in assets are spread among…
