Domestic research institutes have developed numerous innovative technologies for transfer to the private sector. Taiwan’s prowess in such industries as semiconductors and bicycles is well-known. If government efforts bear fruit, the list of industries in which Taiwan is among the global leaders may be lengthened in the years head – and dental equipment and materials…
Cacai Cacao, Vicky Lin’s bean-to-bar chocolate company is a home business in every sense. The inspiration for the business came during a 2015 visit to her husband Mark’s family home in the Philippines, a trip that gave her the chance to see several cacao farms that make their own chocolate for turning into finished chocolate…
Justin Dunkle didn’t intend to follow in the footsteps of his father, Joseph Dunkle, a former military police officer from New York who founded Aunt Stella’s Cookies and Cakes in Japan in 1983. The younger Dunkle, raised in Japan and educated in Canada and Japan, instead originally chose a career in investment banking. The fallout…
Not long after coming to Taiwan to study Chinese, Brett Aaron started to dabble in business – opening the market here for Snapple beverages – as a way to help hone his language skills. Now, some three decades later, he is still based in Taipei, and the company he founded in 1994, BABI International Corp.,…
The slow rate of economic growth is considered to be the major factor causing the stagnation in compensation levels. Why does nearly everyone in Taiwan feel they are working hard but still receiving a meager pay packet? “The biggest problem is the low rate of growth,” says Peng Su-ling, director of the Center for Economic…
Taiwan has played a role in two recent developments related to advancing the cause of women’s health and well-being. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, more commonly known as SLE or lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disease that disproportionately affects women. More than 90% of its sufferers are female, making the disease very much a women’s issue. This…
Supporting a brand is difficult. Despite low margins, the OEM/ODM model brings in steady business. Factories of Hon Hai Precision (also known as Foxconn) and other major Taiwanese contract manufacturers are currently running at full capacity churning out the iPhone 8 and other new models launched by Apple. Economists regularly disparage Taiwan’s continued heavy reliance…
Taiwan aims to pursue financial technology innovation, but over-regulation continues to block the needed experimentation and flexibility. Technological advances are increasingly transforming every aspect of financial services, a phenomenon that has given rise to the term “fintech,” short for financial technology. In Taiwan, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) in 2015 established a Fintech Office to…
Who will take up the baton from the current generation of Taiwan’s corporate leaders? Corporate succession is a sensitive topic in Taiwan, where many top business leaders take on larger-than-life roles in their firms, often opting to continue working well into their eighties. Strong family and personal connections often complicate the transfer of company leadership….
Computex, Taiwan’s premier trade show and one of the world’s largest computer technology exhibitions, celebrated its 37th anniversary this year. But when asked by a reporter at the closing press conference whether Computex is struggling to keep up with new upstart technology expos such as CES Asia in Shanghai and CommunicaAsia in Singapore, Walter Yeh,…
