A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Property tax rates revised to curb speculation The Legislative Yuan on April 9 passed the third and final reading of amendments to the Income Tax Act that aim to revise property tax rates. The amended law will take…
Palau President Visits Taiwan Surangel Whipps Jr., President of the Micronesian country of Palau, one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, made a five-day official visit to Taiwan in late March to celebrate the opening of a special travel bubble between the two partners. Accompanying Whipps on his visit was U.S. Ambassador to Palau John…
Taiwan Domestic Vaccinations Begin The first batch of vaccines to be delivered to Taiwan arrived on March 3. According to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), the 117,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses manufactured by AstraZeneca will be offered to groups of individuals prioritized for vaccination by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Top priority is…
Business & Economic Optimism Abound February was a down month for manufacturers in Taiwan this year, according to the results of a monthly business outlook survey conducted by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER). It makes sense: February is already the shortest month of the year. Add to that the fact that both the…
A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Fubon acquires majority stake in Jih Sun Fubon Financial Holding Co. announced on March 23 that it had successfully completed the public tender to acquire a 53.84% stake in Jih Sun Financial Holding, making it the largest shareholder…
A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Higher growth forecasts meet concerns of overheating As the first quarter comes to a close, many economic institutions are raising their forecasts for Taiwan’s 2021 economic growth. On March 24, the Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute projected annual GDP growth…
A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Water Shortage Takes Toll on Industries While Taiwan relies on typhoons for 60% of its water usage needs, the absence of these severe weather events this past year has resulted the island’s worst water shortage in over five…
By Austin Babb and Jason Wu COVID Success Lures Foreigners Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan continues to be an attractive location for foreign talent. Ministry of Labor statistics show an 18% increase in foreign white-collar workers in Taiwan since last year. In addition, there was an astounding 300% rise in 2020 in the number…
By Austin Babb and Jason Wu New Chief Named for Mainland Affairs Former Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san was sworn in on February 23 as the new Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) minister. He replaces Chen Ming-tong, who has been appointed to head the National Security Bureau (NSB). During the swearing-in ceremony, Chiu pledged to resume…
By Austin Babb and Jason Wu Taiwan Secures COVID Vaccines As of February 21, Taiwan has secured around 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from three different sources. It is expected to begin a rollout of the vaccine by early March, according to Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung. Taiwan will obtain 10 million doses…
