Recent years have brought scant good news for Taiwan’s LCD panel makers. Once the vanguards of the industry, they have ceded that ground to South Korean and, increasingly, Chinese competitors. Yet the launch of 8K resolution television sets represents a glimmer of hope for the Taiwan panel-making industry. 8K resolution is currently the highest resolution…
The sharing economy relies on shared production or consumption of goods and services, in contrast to the mainstream systems of private ownership. It originated in early Web-based non-profit initiatives such as Wikipedia and Couchsurfing. The first large-scale bike-sharing system was established in Lyon, France in 2005. Taiwan’s own YouBike program was launched in Taipei City…
The company’s Taiwan business is still growing despite being in regulatory limbo and facing mounting opposition from lawmakers and the taxi industry. Brittany Holtsinger swears by Uber. The Taipei-based digital marketing strategist uses the ride-hailing app four to five times a week, opting for a taxi only when Uber’s rush-hour surcharges make its prices less…
The company’s popular apartment-sharing business remains illegal in this market, but it hopes to find some resolution. A little over two years ago, Airbnb was riding high in Taiwan. Tourism was still rising, including from China. The hotel industry, benefiting from growing business, had yet to press the government to crack down on Airbnb’s lucrative…
Tourists and Taiwan residents alike have cheered Taipei City’s YouBike bike-sharing program. The bikes provide a convenient, inexpensive and eco-friendly way to get around Greater Taipei. The program has been expanded to Hsinchu, Taichung, and Changhua, and the Taiwan government hopes to eventually export it as a turnkey solution to other countries. Encouraged by YouBike’s…
Taiwan’s FlyingV is one of the most successful crowdfunding platforms in the Asian region. In 2015 roughly US$34 billion was raised globally through crowdfunding, a type of alternative finance that relies on small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to support new business ventures. Thanks to the internet, fundraisers can easily connect…
The Taiwan economy is back in positive territory, but the pace of growth is likely to remain slow until global conditions improve substantially. In the meantime, Taiwan may benefit as a key part of the supply chain for Apple’s iPhone 7, but its tourism sector will need to make up for a sharp drop in…
Faced with lackluster growth, stagnant salaries, and complaints from young people that it’s hard to find a job, Taiwan is seeking to follow the example of rival Asian tiger Korea by undergoing industrial upgrading. To this end, President Tsai Ing-wen and her administration have announced plans to develop five major innovative industries: smart machinery, green…
Senior government officials have cited Taiwan’s recent labor unrest as their biggest short-term economic problem, saying that continuing controversy could undermine investor confidence. Recent ruckuses in the Legislative Yuan suggest that an immediate solution is not in sight. In late October, Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers sided with labor groups, waving placards and occupying the Speaker’s podium…
Massive investment in solar and wind power will be needed if Taiwan is to phase out nuclear energy at the same time as meeting its carbon abatement commitments. This is part one of a three-part story on Taiwan’s energy situation: Part 2 Part 3 The “Energiewende” – energy transformation – of Germany’s power supply has…
