Taipei Competitiveness

20200624
Prosperity and Inclusive City Seal and Awards PICSA Taipei ranked 6th most inclusive city in world: PICSA report

Taipei has been ranked sixth out the 113 most inclusive cities in the world listed in the first ever Prosperity & Inclusive City Seal and Awards (PICSA) index, Taipei City government. As the best performing Asian city on the index, Taipei was ranked sixth, while Tokyo was the next best Asian performer at 39. Osaka, Singapore, Seoul and Hong Kong were placed 44, 46, 49, and 70, respectively.

After Taipei, in descending order, were Oslo, Ottawa, Kiel, Geneva, Washington DC, Munich, Prague, Seattle, Stockholm, Boston, Amsterdam, Berlin, Eindhoven, and Bilbao, the host city of this year's PISCA index. Meanwhile, the top five positions were taken by cities from northern Europe, with Zurich topping the list, followed by Vienna, Copenhagen, Luxembourg and Helsinki.

According to the PICSA report, Taipei stood out on the 2019 PICSA index mainly due to its sustainability development efforts, and the city's zero waste approach which aims to conserve natural resources and reduce pollution from extraction, manufacturing and disposal. The report also described Taipei as having a rich export-driven economy, and being a high-tech city known for its world leading information and technology industry.

20191204
Taipei City has placed 1st in the InterNations' Expat City Ranking

According to the InterNations Ranking, Taipei City ranks first among the global cities for expats. The foreigners working and living in Taiwan are particularly satisfied with the medical quality received in Taipei. However, many people believe that the environment in Taiwan still needs to be improved.

InterNations is a private company in Munich, Germany that is dedicated to providing information for people living and working abroad. There are 3.7 million members in the company, and it is known as the biggest network platform for expats worldwide.

According to the report announced by InterNations completed via a general survey, Taipei City ranked No. 1 out of 82 cities included in the InternNations' Expat City Ranking and remained the best location for expats for another term. Foreigners reported that they are particularly satisfied with the living quality, transportation, medical quality, low living expenses, and friendly people in Taipei.

The expats living in Taiwan largely praise the medical quality and convenience of medical services in Taiwan. An Indian national who was expatriated to Taipei stated, “as compared to Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong, the living expenses are relatively low in Taiwan while the national health insurance and safety are especially attractive to me”.

Foreigners are also very impressed with the friendliness of Taiwanese people. One South African national expressed, “Taiwanese people love to help others and are considerate”. The report also showed that 86% of people who are expatriated to Taiwan are satisfied with their lives.

20191204
Taipei is the winning champion again! Taipei is appraised as the best city for expats globally

According to the annual survey conducted by the online institution, InterNations, for global expats, Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, was successively ranked by expats as the top best city for living and working for the second year.

According to the report of 《CNBC》, the survey is aimed at over 20,000 expats living in 187 areas representing 178 countries and selects the best cities for expats. The survey scores 25 living conditions, including living quality, work satisfaction, financial security, and local living costs.

The survey showed that the overall living quality for expats in Taipei is highly appraised. Foreign people are particularly satisfied with the transportation and medical services in Taipei. Even though there are language obstacles, the friendliness of the Taiwanese people has received favorable comments. Some expats that have recently moved to Taipei also express that they are excited to have a new social life.

The second-best city for expats is Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. It is valued as a city where foreigners can most easily adapt to the environment. Although the official language is Malay, English is extensively used. 92% of expats also expressed that they can easily live in Kuala Lumpur without being able to speak Malay. Financial security and affordable living costs are also highly appraised in this city.

Within the best-ranked cities for expats, the following cities included Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Montreal in Quebec Canada, Lisbon in Portugal, Barcelona in Spain, Zug in Switzerland, Hague in the Netherlands, and Basle in Switzerland.

20191120
Resulting from reinstated foreign capital by Taiwanese businessmen, the prosperity of real estate investment in Taipei City is promoted to the 14^th position in the Asian Pacific

As a result of the benefits from foreign capital reinstated by Taiwanese businessmen, Taipei City’s commercial real estate market is indirectly advantageous. According to the latest reports of PwC and the Urban Land Institute published on November 20th, the prosperity of real estate investment in Taipei City has been promoted, among 22 cities in the Asia Pacific area, from 21^st place last year to 14^th place this year. It is the second-highest placement within the last 8 years, showing the rise of the commercial real estate market in Great Taipei.

The interviewees in this report included 94 institutional investors and managers. According to the survey results, even when there is no imminent global recession crisis, investors still worry about market prosperity and change from optimism to a more conservative outlook and generally consider that a sensible selection of investments is a safer and better choice. Meanwhile, the political and economic environment, as well as several issues regarding geopolitics, should be fully considered when investing to seek profit in alterable markets. Through the various benefits of foreign capital being reinstated by Taiwanese businessmen, the industrial and commercial real estate markets are still prevalent.

The three major political and economic issues that concerned the interviewees the most were: the US and China trade war, foreign affairs dispute between Japan and Korea and the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. These three major events result in a withdrawal from cross-boundary real estate investment; both the amount and percentage on cross-boundary real estate investment are decreasing. However, the percentage of trade amongst domestic investors is increasing.

The report also states that even when the economic environment is fully variable and investment opportunities present challenges, investors can still point out some successful investment areas in 2020. According to the overview of the investees, the most prosperous five cities in terms of investment in the Asian Pacific include Singapore, Tokyo Japan, Ho Chi Minh Vietnam, Sidney, and Melbourne Australia.

20191120
The US and China Trade War Has benefitted Taiwan’s Commercial Real Estate as 70% of Office Buildings in Taipei City are fully rented

According to the latest survey report conducted by Colliers International on November 20^th, over one year has passed since the start of the US and China trade war and it is has had more of a significant negative impact on Hong Kong. The protest activities in Hong Kong also decrease the expansion of the financial industry, causing less growth momentum for office demands and the rent for commercial office space has declined accordingly. However, Taiwanese businessmen returning to Taiwan are urged to set up plants while leading industrial real estate and even the dedicated demand for the rental and/or sales of office buildings. According to the results of the survey conducted by Colliers International, 70% of office buildings in Taipei City are fully rented, providing a significant market event.

The survey also found that the impacts of the US and China trade war and the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement are measurable and orders for products made in Hong Kong are visibly affected. These events also seriously affect macroeconomics and PMI has successively deteriorated to 40.8, which is at the lowest level since the financial storm in 2009.

Among these influences, the biggest impact from the first three waves of taxation in the US and China trade war was on network communication equipment; the biggest impact has been on mobile phones and notebooks in the fourth wave, which may directly affect the supply chain of the information and communication industry resulting in a slip of orders over a long period. Therefore, from the first quarter in 2018, Taiwanese businesses, including Delta Electronics, Quanta Computer, Largan Precision, Yageo, Hota Industrial, ASUS, and King Yuan Electronics all expanded their plants in Taiwan.

Based on the survey, the commercial real estate and land transactions have all been found strong in the six municipal cities this year. The trading amount is also found to be more than a hundred billion, approximately 100.9 billion in Taipei City within the first three quarters and followed by Taichung City (approximately 57.6 billion) while number three to six, in order, include New Taipei City (around 40.9 billion), Kaohsiung City (approximately 2407 billion), Taoyuan City (approximately 34.7 billion), and Tainan City (approximately 28.4 billion).

According to Colliers International, for the analysis from the perspective of transaction types in the six municipal cities, commercial land and office buildings are more popular in Taipei City, while residential land is the most popular in Taichung City. The total transaction amount was approximately 30 billion in the first nine months.

However, the industrial real estate, including the industrial land, plants, and plant offices are relatively popular in New Taipei City and Taoyuan City. The demand for the rental and/or sales of office buildings is continuously intensive and the increasing demand and reduced supply will rapidly increase rent in Taipei City while the housing vacancy rate is continuously in decline.

20191009
WEF Global Competitiveness - Taiwan is ranked 12^th and remains on the list of the four major innovation countries

Today, the World Economic Forum (WEF) published its “2019 Global Competitiveness Report” (9). Among the 141 countries surveyed, Taiwan placed 12th, moving forward one spot. Taiwan is ranked 4th place in the Asia-Pacific area, behind only Singapore (1), Hong Kong (3), and Japan (6) and leading South Korea (13) and China (28), succeeding its good performance last year. Taiwan remains among the four major countries with innovation capabilities alongside Germany, the United States, and Switzerland.

The assessment of WEF’s “Global Competitiveness 4.0” is divided into four major categories, 12 pillars, and 103 sub-items. Among the 12 pillars, Taiwan has moved forward in nine of them, with its performance in macroeconomic stability (1), innovation capability (4), and financial system (6) being the best. Of those, the “innovation capability” score remained above 80 and is among the four major innovation countries with Germany, the United States, and Switzerland. With regard to “innovation ecological system”, the advantageous sub-items of Taiwan included diversity of workforce (4), state of cluster development (3), international co-invention (6), patent applications (3), and R&D expenditures over GDP (5). Taiwan is at the top of the list of patents and R&D expenditure, which showcases its research strength.

20191007
Taipei ranks 9^th in the Best Cities in the World: 2019 Readers' Choice Awards

Taipei ranks 9th in the Best Cities in the World in the 32nd annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey voted by 600,000 registered voters. Taipei is a city with a rich history, though at 300 years young it’s a relative newcomer compared to its neighbors in the East. Visit one of the city’s many temples to find deities of Buddhist, Taoist, and Chinese folk religions, and capitalize on your jet lag with a visit to one of Taipei’s many night markets. For a respite from the city, check in to Villa 32, a five-room mountainside spa built adjacent to a hot spring, a half-hour north of downtown by car. Taipei is well-connected to the rest of Taiwan through the high speed rail that runs the length of the island—look out for the Hello Kitty–themed train, which relaunched earlier this year.

20191003
Taipei City Ranks 7th in the IMD Smart City Index

In October 2019, Lausanne Business School announced that Taipei stands in 7th place among 102 global cities surveyed in the IMD Smart City Index. This survey was jointly completed by the Business School of Lausanne and the National University of Singapore over two years. It primarily observes the “citizen oriented” thinking and fulfillment of global city designers and management departments, stressing the consistency between policy and public living necessities. It is a unique ranking in the world today. The order of the top 10 cities in the rankings are: Singapore (Singapore), Zurich (Swiss), Oslo (Norway), Geneva (Swiss), Copenhagen (Denmark), Auckland (New Zealand), Taipei City (Taiwan), Helsinki (Finland), Bilbao (Span) and Dusseldorf (Germany).

20190926
Taipei has jumped three places to become the 13th most digitally competitive country in the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking

Lausanne Business School IMD in September announced the World Digital Competitiveness rankings for 2019. Taiwan’s ranking was promoted to 13th place and 4th amongst the Asia-Pacific economies. Among these, the mobile broadband index is the best in the world. There are three major indicators, and Taiwan ranked 17th in “knowledge”, 9th in “technology” and 12th in “future readiness”.

20190924
2020 World Graduate Employability Ranking: National Taiwan University gains 25 places

The global higher education research think tank, QS Quacquarelli, has released the world graduate employability ranking. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) takes the lead, followed by Stanford University and the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) respectively. The National Taiwan University has gained 25 places and now stands in 56th place worldwide.