Ten strategic sectors have been identified as having the best potential for selling system integration solutions to overseas markets. The Taiwanese economy limped along in 2015 as an export slump pushed GDP growth down to an estimated 1%. That anemic performance was Taiwan’s worst since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, when the economy went…
Three Taipei restaurants to bear in mind when hankering for the food of northern China. Photos by Matthew Fulco Over the years it has become harder to find authentic northern Chinese restaurants in Taipei. Restaurant founders who arrived in Taiwan with Chiang Kai-Shek and the Kuomintang government more than 65 years ago have nearly all…
East Asia is increasingly caught up in a love affair with Taiwan’s signature pastry. Tucked away on a luxuriant side street in Taipei’s tony Minsheng Community neighborhood is an unassuming and quiet café. While sparsely furnished, the café exudes a gentle warmth, its caramel wood walls bathed in the halcyon glow of halogen track lighting….
Taipei’s Top hotels are rolling out elaborate all-you-can eat buffet spreads to the delight of diners. Photos By Matt Fulco Chef Bernard Noel loses track of time when he enthuses about the quality of the Regent Taipei’s Brasserie buffet restaurant, especially the seafood. “It’s always the catch of the day,” says the native of Alsace,…
The rising preference for foreign cars is boosting overall industry sales but presenting increased challenges for local automakers. Due to the depreciation of the yen and euro, imported vehicles have become more price competitive, and now account for a 37% market share. Luxury brands have been doing particularly well. While auto sales this year are…
Volkswagen will recall nearly 18,000 cars in Taiwan affected by the company’s diesel emissions scandal from January 1, the German automaker’s Taiwan branch announced in November. News of the scandal broke in September when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed that diesel-powered Volkswagen cars sold in the United States were equipped with illegal software…
Cooperation with the United States will be a cornerstone of the island’s increasingly ambitious forays into space. Taiwan is stepping up cooperation with the United States in satellite technology in a bid to broaden the scope of its little known 25-year-old space program. Washington and Taipei will jointly fund the US$400 million FORMOSAT-7 mission (known…
New market entrants could put Taiwan on the map as a major EV maker. In April, Premier Mao Chi-kuo proclaimed the goal of making Taiwan a leading manufacturer of new-energy vehicles as part of a plan to transform it into a “model green country.” In particular, Taiwan should replace its motor scooters and motorcycles with…
State coffers are benefiting from a rise in tax revenue, but Taiwan’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains among the lowest in the developed world. Revisions to tax policy are bringing increased revenue into Taiwan’s national treasury, giving a boost to public finances as the government grapples with ballooning debt and anemic economic growth. Analysts and the government…
Expeditious reform of the public finance system is necessary to prevent mounting debt from crimping future economic growth. Taiwan’s public finances are increasingly strained by debt, aggravating the island’s fiscal woes as it struggles with flagging exports and weak GDP growth. Last year, the central government’s debt reached NT$5.28 trillion (US$161 billion). At 35.85% of…
