Business & Economy of Taiwan
Xinyi District in Taipei is the most cosmopolitan city district, with Taipei 101 tower and Taipei Songshan Airport (IATA: TSA) in the foreground, the Elephant Mountain (象 山) in the background.
Image: Timo Volz
Economy of Taiwan
Taiwan's industry consists primarily of many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but skilled crafts and trades also play an important role. Its dynamic economy is heavily dependent on exports, especially electronics, machinery and refined petroleum. The Taiwanese semiconductor industry is the unmatched global leader. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) alone supplies more than 50% of the worldwide market. The island has a highly skilled workforce and is an important link in global supply chains, a central hub for shipments and transshipments in East Asia, and a major center for advanced research and development (R&D).
Central Bank of the Republic of China
Official website of the Central Bank of the Republic of China, located in Zhongzheng, Taipei.
Taiwan Stock Exchange
The Stock Exchange of Taiwan (TWSE), headquartered in Taipei, was established in 1961.
Board of Foreign Trade, MOEA
An agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Ministry of Finance, R.O.C
The Official Website of the Ministry of Finance.
China External Trade Development
Council (CETRA)
The nonprofit government co-sponsored trade promotion organization is a gateway to trade with Taiwan.
Computex
The Taipei International Information Technology Show is held annually in Taipei. Computex is among the world's leading platforms for ICT and IoT.
Taiwan International Tradeshows
A guide to Taiwan's tradeshows.
Major companies in Taiwan
Acer Inc.
Acer is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation. The PC manufacturer was founded in 1976 as Multitech in Hsinchu City.
ASE Group
Kaohsiung-based ASE (Advanced Semiconductor Engineering) is one of the world's largest providers of outsourced semiconductor manufacturing services.
Asus
ASUSTek Computer Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational computer hardware, smartphone and electronics company headquartered in Taipei's Beitou District.
Cathay Financial Holding
Cathay United Bank (part of Cathay Financial Holdings) is one of the largest commercial banks in Taiwan, with 165 branches.
Taiwan's industry consists primarily of many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but skilled crafts and trades also play an important role.
Salt production in the Jingzaijiao Salt Fields in Beimen District of Tainan; it is the oldest salt field in Taiwan and today a tourist attraction.
Image: 張秀凰 (huangjiang)
Chunghwa Telecom
Chunghwa Telecom Company, Ltd. is Taiwan's largest telecommunications company and the local provider of public telecommunications (PSTN), mobile communications and broadband services.
Delta Electronics
DELTA is an electronic components and ICT infrastructure manufacturing company headquartered in Taipei's Neihu District.
Evergreen Marine Corporation
Evergreen Marine Corporation is a Taiwanese container transportation and shipping company headquartered in Taoyuan City.
Formosa Plastics Group
FPG is a titular Taiwanese conglomerate headquartered in Kaohsiung. The company operates in various fields, including biotechnology, petrochemical processing and the manufacture of electronic components.
Hon Hai Precision Industry
Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn Technology Group, is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer headquartered in Tucheng, New Taipei City. The BlackBerry phones, Apple's iPad, iPhone, iPod, Amazon's Kindle, and most of Nintendo's consoles are manufactured by Foxconn. The Foxconn group manufactured an estimated 40% of all consumer electronics sold worldwide.
Hotai Motor
Hotai Motor is Taiwan's largest automobile company and auto parts distributor and one of the largest financial holding companies in the country. Hotai Motor produces Toyota Sienna, Toyota C-HR and Toyota Prado cars.
HTC
HTC Corporation is a Taiwanese consumer electronics and smartphone company headquartered in Xindian District, New Taipei City.
Leofoo Tourism Group
The "Leofoo Tourism Group" was established in 1968. It operates, among others, Courtyard by Marriott Taipei,
Leofoo Village, Asia's first large-scale theme park, Leofoo Water Park and
Elite Bakery.
MediaTek
MediaTek Inc. is a Taiwanese semiconductor company that provides chips for wireless communications, high-definition television, smartphones, tablets and navigation systems.
Mercuries & Associates
Mercuries & Associates, Holding Ltd. is a Taipei-based investment holding company primarily engaged in the life insurance and retail sectors. It also operates restaurants, fast food chains and department stores.
Pegatron
Pegatron Corporation manufactures products for the computer, communications and consumer electronics markets at plants in Taiwan, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Indonesia and China.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC)
TSMC is the world's largest chip foundry and the biggest contract chipmaker. The company manufactures integrated circuits and semiconductor products, including semiconductors below 1-nanometer (nm). The headquarters of one of Taiwan's largest companies is located in Hsinchu City.
Ting Hsin International Group
The scandal-plagued Taiwanese corporation owns various food brands such as the instant noodle maker
Master Kong,
Wei-Chuan Food Corporation and
Dicos, China's (PRC) third-largest fast-food chain.
Uni-President Enterprises Corporation
Uni-President is an international food conglomerate based in Tainan. It is the largest food manufacturing company in Taiwan and Asia and has a significant market share in dairy products, food and snacks, and beverages. The company also runs Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Mister Donut and Carrefour in Taiwan.
Quanta Computer
Based in Taoyuan City, Quanta Computer Incorporated is a notebook computer manufacturer and a major Apple assembler. The company's products include the Apple Macbook Air, Apple Macbook Pro and Lenovo's ThinkPad Z60m.
Transportation
The Dome of Light in Formosa Boulevard Metro Station in Kaohsiung.
Image: Zairon
Airlines
China Airlines
State-owned China Airlines is Taiwan's national carrier and the largest airline with a fleet size of 83 (incl cargo); it serves 102 destinations globally (incl cargo).
Mandarin Airlines
Mandarin Airlines is a subsidiary company of China Airlines; it operates domestic and regional flights.
EVA Air
Evergreen Airways is an international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport; it is part of the Evergreen Marine Corporation and was the country's first private international airline.
UNI Air
UNI Air is the result of the merger of Great China Airlines and Taiwan Airways; it is a subsidiary of EVA Air.
Defunct airlines
FAT (dead link)
Far Eastern Air Transport was a Taiwanese private air transport company founded in 1957 and based at Taipei Songshan Airport. FAT ceased operations in December 2019.
Airports
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
Taiwan Taoyuan International (
IATA: TPE) is by far Taiwan's busiest airport.
Rail
Taiwan Railway
Official site of Taiwan's Railway.
Taiwan High-Speed Rail
Official site of Taiwan's High-Speed Rail.
End car of a Taiwan High Speed 700T train in Zuoying Station of Kaohsiung. Taiwan's High-Speed Rail runs for about 350 km (220 mi) along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. The high-speed trains run at a top speed of 300 km/h and connect Nangang Station (Taipei) with Zuoying Station (Kaohsiung City) in about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Image: weichen_kh