Destinations

Taiwan: Continuous Economic Growth Based on Resilience

19th May 2023

Taiwan has caught the attention of the public eye in recent years, may that be thanks to its safety measures during and post-pandemic or for its ever-growing economy. Business is thriving and business events find a suitable match to their needs as the country is well prepared for international conferences in science, technology, medicine and other industries. Through a stable society, priority in education and research, solid financial systems and extensive international connectivity, Taiwan has managed to receive global recognition for the tenacity of its economic sectors of excellence.

Words Vicky Koffa

Despite its limited land and relatively small population, Taiwan has established itself as a major global player in industries ranging from IT, information security and semiconductors to biotechnology, aerospace and sustainable energy. The country’s compact size and the people’s innovative spirit have been helpful in organizing a society where industrial development can flourish for years to come.

Enabling Industrial Development

One of the main reasons for such progress is the value of rule of law the Taiwanese choose as a guideline for government systems and operations. The government manages efficiently trade affairs and provides companies with a democratic and free environment, favoring startups and attracting investment and international exchange. Stability is also found in Taiwan’s financial systems, with the Central Bank playing a crucial role in providing top-quality services and assistance to international trade. 

Taiwan’s industrial clusters have contributed to stabilizing the economic system. The country’s over 90,000 manufacturing factories across many high-performing industries are concentrated in relevant groups all across the island, with the science parks providing invaluable support for collaborations (creating a doorway for associations). Important research institutions like the Academia Sinica and the Industrial Technology Research Institute have raised Taiwan’s innovation capability and are creating a welcoming ecosystem for associations and their conferences to tap into. 

The friendly social atmosphere and flexible legal environment make Taiwan an attractive hub for business, scientific research and international meetings. Four international airports and various international ports connect the island to the world, whereas digital connectivity completes the circle of accessibility, as the island’s extensive 5G coverage provides a platform for many industries to flourish.

Taiwan’s key assets for associations are reinforced by its commitment to organize sustainable business events and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. With the ‘Taking Strides Towards Net Zero’ project, under the MEET TAIWAN program, Taiwan is promoting policies and methods for sustainable events, encouraging relevant companies to utilize government resources to enhance their competitiveness in corporate sustainability. Actions speak louder than words, as Taiwan has already launched the ‘100 x 100 campaign’ that called on 100 stakeholders to carry out 100 sustainable actions for business events.

Booming Economic Industries

With such robust support from government and society, Taiwan’s industries are booming. The country’s ICT sector has played an important role in the world market, but demand during the pandemic gave it a 12% boost, demonstrating its resilience. Taiwan’s three major science parks -Hsinchu Science Park, Central Taiwan Science Park, and Southern Taiwan Science Park- thrive in optoelectronics, green energy, biotechnology and medical devices, whereas AIoT and 5G applications are exported internationally. First in the world for Semiconductor development, Taiwan has reached a new high in the last three years. The island has created a one-stop industry chain spanning IC design, manufacturing, assembly and testing, encouraging entrepreneurship. Collaboration among government, industry and academia is an attraction for like-minded business events, like SEMICON (the world’s second largest professional exhibition for semiconductors).

2023 APEC Workshop

Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals are key development industries for Taiwan. Health insurance database applications, IT advancements, and supportive government policies (Act for the Development of Biotech and Pharmaceutical Industry) have brought Taiwan to the second place worldwide in efficient healthcare systems. Taiwan has continued to host the largest biotechnology exhibition in Asia -BIO Asia- every year from 2019 to 2022. Extensive use of IT in all sectors has created the need for information security enhancement. Taiwan is giving priority to Information Security Technology development. A bright example is CyCraft, which has developed a whole-process surveillance tool to ensure information security through AI automation, which also defends against invasive attacks through remote networks. Such advancements have resulted in recurring events like Cybersec (a platform for information security exchange in Asia) with nearly 10,000 registrations.

Keeping up with sustainability needs, Taiwan is harnessing the sea, sun and wind of its territory to create green energy solutions. Moreover, the Taiwan government actively implements energy transition by promoting electricity market liberalization and green energy investment. On top of being the largest manufacturing country of silicon wafer, which is the main material for solar cells, Taiwan is also emerging in the offshore wind power industry with the first wind turbine nacelle assembly facility outside Europe. 

Technological innovations are positively affecting Taiwan’s Food and Construction industries. The Food Industry Research and Development Institute (FIRDI) is Introducing smart technology to traditional food factories, whereas the Taiwan Construction Research Institute (TCRI) is mainly focused on construction material and technology research. Once again, associations have unique opportunities for knowledge exchange: the Taiwan Association for Food Science and Technology has successfully obtained the right to host the 2026 World Congress of Food Science and Technology.

The Aerospace and Precision Machinery industries is growing rapidly as manufacturing of aerospace parts and shipbuilding offer a comprehensive supply system and customized services. Taiwan’s precision machinery plays an indispensable role in global supply chains. Taiwan built its high-performing precision machinery industry based on the Taichung Machinery Industry Cluster of Dadu Mountain.

Taiwan’s intersectoral collaboration opens new doors for development. Technological innovation is integrated in all sectors through education, scientific research and government support. Under the slogan “MEET TAIWAN Open Arms”, the country’s suppliers and professional organizations in the events industry are ready to bring a new experience to the organizers and attendees. This paints a colorful and welcoming picture of Taiwan as a business event destination as associations can find not only subsidies for their events, bit also fruitful ground for new partnerships and ideas.

More information

www.meettaiwan.com

Organized by Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA

Taiwan External Trade Development Council

Ad. by Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA

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