With the nation's unemployment rate still near record highs, would-be entrepreneurs are turning to franchises and the chance to be their own employer.
"The number of franchises grew significantly last year, registering a 13 percent jump between 2000 and 2001," said Pierce Chiang (江慶鐘), director of the Franchise Promotion Association in Taiwan.
There are over 64,066 franchise outlets in a variety of sectors in Taiwan. Such businesses include restaurants, food stalls, coffee shops, convenience stores, book shops, real-estate agencies, video shops and Internet cafes.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING
Chiang said that with many factories in Taiwan closing their doors, people are searching for other ways to make a living.
"Becoming a franchisee and learning know-how from the parent company is a quick and easy way to enter the market," Chiang said.
Last year over 50 percent of new franchises were small-scale operations, such as breakfast shops and cafes.
The amount of capital needed to establish one of these outlets ranges from NT$300,000 to NT$500,000, and they are easy to operate, Chiang said.
"We opened 200 new franchise outlets last year," said Lu Cheng-yi (
But he warned about intense competition.
"Since so many people jumped into the market last year, competition has become very tough and sales may begin to slow."
Lu's promotion was part of the third annual Taipei International Chain and Franchise Exhibition yesterday at the Taipei World Trade Center. The expo is open from 10am to 6pm daily and runs through March 3. Admission is NT$200.
One unemployed gentleman came to the show in the hope of creating his own job.
"I came to look for business opportunities and ideas," said a 38-year old father of two surnamed Tseng. Tseng lost his job in a shoe factory last year after the company moved to China.
"I have a family with two children to feed, so I have to start a small business and make money as soon as possible," he said.
One franchise option that has become popular in Taipei recently is "coffeemobiles."
Growing numbers of "Starbucks on wheels" can be seen caffinating visitors to nightmarkets, tourist locations, shopping areas and business districts.
"Enjoying coffee at a outdoor coffee van is a new trend -- the business outlook is promising," said Tseng Guang-tang (
Equipped with the latest in coffee, espresso and cappucinno equipment, these trucks also cart tables and chairs for creating an on-the-spot coffee shop.
The initial investment for a coffeemobile is around NT$2 million -- including the vehicle, Tseng said.
While the rent-free aspect of the business is an attraction, mobile businesses are classified as street vendors in the eyes of the law and are therefore likely to face fines.
But at only around NT$1,000 per citation, one coffee-van operator in Taipei said the police only issue an occasional ticket and then "let us go about our business."
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such