Taiwanese Companies Ready for Roaring the World

Taiwanese companies ready

for roaring the world

Taiwan’s TSMC and HTC reinventing their industries and products

Over the last three decades, Taiwan has averaged 6% annual GDP growth and has transformed into a dynamic capitalist economy. During that time, the government and the private sector in Taiwan have been working together to continuously enhance industrial competitiveness and achieve steady economic growth. Within 23 million of populations, Taiwan has successfully thrived democracy and also made vibrant market economy yet a highly attractive export market for the world.

Back to history when Taiwan was lost at the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), the displaced Nationalist dreamt they could harness the traditional Chinese entrepreneurial juices to create a competing market-based model that would form a favorable contrast to the ascetic Communist society. Along with Chiang Kai-shek and the boldness nation, bolstered by massive infusions of U.S. foreign aid, it was succeeded in realizing its lofty ambition of becoming a shrine to the capitalist spirit in Asia. [pic 1]

In the beginning, it was all about imitation through some products which have been produce in United States or Japan earlier. Successful imitation had too often conducted by means of flagrant violation of intellectual property (IP) right. As K.T. Li (Minister in charge of technology for the fledging Republic of China) tried to move from this method, by encourage companies to keep innovate and focus on certain area of industry.

Over time, the innovation have been utilized for certain of purposes which both economizing and strategizing, and government policy plays an important role in encouraging the formation of clusters of collaborating firms in Taiwan. Existing research institutions, such as the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park also encourage all companies to become leader in innovation. The government also supports the development of high-value business by investing greatly in the R&D capacity of the country and commercialization through business incubators.

The industrial structure transformed gradually from labor-intensive into technology-intensive [pic 2]

As the result, Taiwan has graduated from imitation to innovation within the past couple of decades, by building its indigenous technological capability and raising the level of technology, particularly for the electronics industry

Taiwanese companies leveraged this structural dependency and used it as a means to acquire technology: Foreign Direct Investments, the licensing of machines and processes as well as their role as Original Equipment Manufacturers for overseas companies were leveraged by Taiwanese companies in order to improve their technological capacity.