AU Optronics Corp (友達) chairman and chief executive officer Paul Peng (彭双浪) yesterday called on the government to ease funding restrictions and propose measures to keep talent in Taiwan to assist with the development of the domestic panel industry.
“The development of the flat-panel industry requires large investment in new technologies, such as flexible displays, but it is very hard for panelmakers to raise funds in Taiwan’s capital markets,” Peng told reporters on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the International Smart Display and Touch Panel Exhibition at the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei.
Peng said that there are restrictions for issuing bonds and applying for bank loans worth more than 15 percent of a company’s net worth.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Taiwanese companies have to earn profits while paying their debts and often have to take new loans to repay existing debts, leaving them with limited funds to invest in new technologies, Peng said.
He called on the government to lift the loan restrictions so companies can have more funding flexibility and become more globally competitive.
Taiwan’s tax regulations also make it difficult for companies to retain local talent and recruit foreign professionals, Peng added.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs last week announced plans to form a national team to develop an industry cluster for flexible active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display technology.
As Chinese and South Korean firms have their governments’ financial support to develop flexible AMOLED technology, Peng said he hopes the central government can offer a more detailed plan, rather than just slogans.
Peng said he expressed his opinions to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during yesterday’s ceremony.
At the ceremony, Tsai said the flat-panel industry is a pillar of Taiwan’s economy.
“The government will help raise companies’ competitiveness, ease regulations on foreign employees and solve companies’ water or electricity problems,” Tsai said, adding that the government also plans to simplify the environmental assessment process in the hope of boosting business investment.
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