Advantageous Industries

Taiwan is world-renowned for its technology development, manufacturing, and operation ability. From January to February in 2024, the amount of export orders was 86.15 billion U.S. dollars, an decrease of 3.48 billion U.S. dollars over the same period last year, an annual decrease of 3.9%. The semi-conductor market share reached 26% in 2021; the productivity of the wafer foundry is the top of the world, accounting for 70% market share. IC package productivity is also number 1 in the world, accounting for about 20% market share. Therefore, Taiwan’s technology industry strength is in a leading position globally. 50% of overseas investment is concentrated in Taipei City, with nearly 70% of foreign companies based here. In addition, newly-emerging industries such as the biotechnology; service; cultural and creative; and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) industries have developed rapidly in recent years, receiving a lot of attention and positive recognition in international markets.

Overseas Investment

	Taipei City	Taiwan	%
Total Overseas Investment (US$100 Million)	90.36	112.54	80.29
Number of Registered Overseas Companies	3,694	5,608	65.87

(Department of Investment Review, MOEA & Taipei City office of Commerce, Q4 2023)

ICT Industry

There are 11,634 registered ICT companies in Taipei City generating production revenue of US$183.4 billion (NT$5,500 billion). Over 130 thousand are employed in cloud services and tech support fields. Among these, top corporations such as Microsoft, IBM, HP, Yahoo, Google, and Cisco have invested funds and set up offices, making Taipei the first choice for domestic and overseas investment in the ICT industry. Situated on the edge of the city, the Neihu Technology Park and Nangang Software Park possess excellent geographical locations with a convenient transportation network, comprehensive living facilities, and government policy support. The two parks house one-third of all corporate headquarters and R&D centers in Taipei City.

Development Advantages

Currently, there are two major industrial parks located in Taipei, which hold leading positions nationwide in terms of both output and total workforce, as well as an important position in global tech supply chains. Key development aspects:

Neihu Technology Park
The Neihu Technology Park is already home to nearly 5,000 companies, with around 170,000 corporate employees and an annual production value of NT$4.4 trillion. With the advent of the new economy, Neihu Technology Park is under pressure to innovate and transform. Using Neihu Technology Park as the core, the Taipei City Government will expand to six major city-owned properties including the Dawan South Section Industrial Zone, Neihu 5th Redevelopment Zone, and Luzhou Village Industrial Zone; these areas will be used to plan innovative corporate R&D as well as new industries. Through the integration of innovative industries and the Park's existing foundation, new opportunities can be created which will drive the overall industry to connect with global industry trends.

Positioning	Special zone for Cooperate HQ, ICT, digital content, biotech R&D
Area	1.4972 sq km	Employment	173,634 people
Revenue	US$ 148 billion	Companies registered	4,990
Cooperate HQ	31	R&D	108

Nangang Software Park

The park provides a working environment for strategic core industries such as software industry and biotechnology industry. The overall development is based on three major knowledge industries: biotechnology, IC design and digital content, and allows supportive service industry to settle in to complete the park's living functions.

Positioning	3 knowledge-based industries, such as biotechnology, IC design, and digital content
Area	0.0967 sq km	Employment	23,744 people
Revenue	US$ 34 billion	Companies registered	494
Cooperate HQ	4	R&D	15

Source: 2023 statistics of Ministry of Economic Affairs and the 2023 Taipei Industrial Park Survey and Analysis Report of Department of Economic Development, Taipei City Government

Future Planning

Taipei City will shortly begin promotion of the Neihu Technology Park Version 2.0 that will utilize current city government real estate to attract newly emerging industries such as cloud computing, IoT, self-driving vehicles, and green energy. Promotion of the Beitou Shilin Technology Park project will begin in 2019, and promotion of the Ecological Shezidao project will start in 2025. These will play key roles as bases for the ICT and biotech/healthcare industries.

Biotech Industry

Taipei is the national hub for biotechnology and medical research. Academia Sinica and eight major medical centers are located in Taipei, while more than 20 universities and vocational colleges in the city have biotech departments. This means Taipei City has a high concentration of scientific research talent, attracting hundreds of biotech companies to set up shop in Taipei, including from sectors such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, healthcare and functional foods. The biotech industry in Taipei generates more than 50% of total nationwide revenue for the industry, with 28% of the workforce, giving it a leading position in the industry nationwide.

Development Advantages

A high concentration of venture capital and financial headquarters:Due to the special characteristics of the biotech industry, it needs continuous capital investment. Taipei City is the financial center of Taiwan, with 90% of the country’s venture capital organizations and 85% of its investment bank head offices.
Complete start-up incubation eco-system:The advantages of being near an urban area include entrepreneurial investment, R&D companies, start-up incubation and talent development organizations, industry supply chain systems, and a fully-provisioned clinical trials market. Together these form a comprehensive ecosystem.
Mature clinical healthcare market: There are 8 medical centers are located in Taipei, forming a comprehensive healthcare system. Together with Taiwan's world-famous National Health Insurance program, this drives the development of the biotech/healthcare market.

Future Planning

In the future, the city will move forward with the Nangang Biotech cluster plan. Located near the Nangang MRT Station, it will serve as a bridge between research results from Academia Sinica and the National Biotechnology Research Park. The plan will satisfy the research and manufacturing needs of clinical medical trials, and link up with the services of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Food and Drug Administration and Center for Drug Evaluation. Taipei is also planning the Nangang Conference Center, Zhongxiao Campus, and Nangang Airport as bases to attract biotech companies and create a comprehensive biotech cluster.

Related Links:Biotech Taipei, Nangang Biotech Incubation Center

Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) Industry

In the 2022 Global Index International Conference Organization "International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)" evaluation report, Taiwan held 90 association-type international conferences, surpassing Thailand and jumping to the top 5 conference countries in Asia. Ranked 30th in the world, fully demonstrating the unique charm and abundant energy of my country for hosting international conferences.

According to the survey data of MEET TAIWAN, in 2022, Taiwan's exhibition industry reached NT$22 billion, of which the number of exhibitions held in Taipei accounted for 63.73% of the national total. Taipei has the most complete MICE hardware and software equipment, with 18 5-star hotels in the city. First-class hotel conference and exhibition space, Taipei World Trade Center Halls 1, Flower Expo Park, Taipei International Convention Center, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Hall, with an exhibition space of 113,000 square meters and nearly 7,491 exhibition booths. The opening of the Nangang International Convention Center and the National Convention and Exhibition Center provide more ample exhibition space.

Development Advantages

Advantageous location: Taipei City is located in the center of the Asia-Pacific region and has convenient transport connections, which is advantageous for the hosting of international exhibitions. It possesses a flourishing conference and exhibitions industry with a high concentration of conference and exhibition service companies, catering/travel service providers, and conference and exhibition centers, comprising a complete industry network.
International hosting experience: Taipei City has hosted a number of major international exhibitions, including Computex, SmartCity, and TIMOS, and was authorized by the International Association of Horticultural Producers to host the 2010 Flora Expo, an A2/B1-level international horticultural exposition.
Application of exhibition and convention technology: Taipei possesses world-class technology and pioneered the use of UWB in Human Computer Interaction technology; world-first micro ultrahigh frequency RFID technology; and ultra-thin, soft paper speakers (FleXpeaker™) developed by ITRI.

Future Development

Taipei City will continue to develop related conference and exhibition facilities in line with the central government’s plan for a "National Conference and Exhibition Center." The city will also promote the Nangang Conference Center in order to attract more international conferences to take place in Taiwan, as well as expand the conference and exhibition facilities in the vicinity of the Taipei Expo Park to promote the vigorous development of international events so that Taipei can stand out as an international expo destination.
Related Links: Taipei Expo Park, Taipei WTC, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center

Wholesale/Retail

Taipei City has a host of commercial districts with a range of operational formats covering general merchandise, gourmet foods, and specific industries. There are 8 general merchandise commercial districts, 27 gourmet food districts, and 24 districts dedicated to specific industries. The Xinyi district, the area in front of Taipei Railway Station, and Ximending are important shopping districts that attract many international tourists to visit Taipei.