A 20-member mission from the Netherlands is scheduled to hold two seminars in Taiwan next week to explore investment opportunities with Taiwanese biotechnology partners, particularly those working with traditional herbal medicines, a senior Dutch trade and investment official told the Taipei Times yesterday.
"We are holding a round table discussion at the Tainan Science Park on Wednesday with panel discussions on specific topics and individual talks and visits to biotechnology companies," said Menno Goedhart, the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office's representative in Taiwan. "The south of Taiwan is very important for biotechnology, and will be more important in the future."
On Thursday, the Dutch mission -- headed by director-general of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dirk Bruinsma -- moves to Taipei to give talks on incubating new biotechnology companies from research start-ups.
"We are aiming at durable co-operations between institutes, universities and companies," Goedhart said. "International co-operation is more efficient."
According to Dutch government statistics, the biotechnology sector is booming in the Netherlands. Pure biotech companies have 155 million euros in annual turnover, but biotechnology departments in multinationals push that figure closer to 50 billion euros, Goedhart said.
Currently, there are no direct Dutch biotechnology investments in Taiwan beyond sales and marketing offices and the two seminars next week aim to change that.
The tour by the potential investors from the Netherlands should bring smiles to many faces in government circles. The government aims to turn Taiwan into a biotechnology center of excellence for Asia. US$5 billion has been set aside to set up research centers and encourage new start-ups in the sector.
Taiwan's strength and tradition in the study of traditional herbal medicines is a major selling point. "Traditional Chinese medicine offers excellent opportunities for Taiwanese biotechnology companies," said Jerry Chen (
There is also a government department devoted to herbal medicines -- the Program Office of Herbal Medicine.
The office's managing director Song Liu (劉華嵩) said on Thursday that there are many incentives on offer for biotech companies planning to invest here, especially in research and development facilities.
The Dutch would like to co-operate in herbal research.
"We have [done] considerable research on herbal medicine," Goedhart said. "Dutch universities such as Leiden are doing research in this area, and Delft University is constructing mathematical models of herbs."
Taiwan's efforts to create "clusters" or designated biotech research parks in Taipei's Nangang district, and Tainan in the south of the island, were also applauded by the Dutch who have found that clustering biotech companies in specialized parks is effective.
"You have to cluster biotech companies and combine their resources as the work they do is very expensive," Goedhart said.
Concerns about lax intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in Taiwan scared off some potential investors, but Goedhart said they shouldn't have been so hesitant.
"The protection of IPR depends on the quality of your partner," he said.
The Netherlands Trade and Biotech Mission round table discussion is scheduled to take place in the Tainan Science Park on Wednesday, and the Taiwan-Netherlands Biotechnology Seminar kicks off in the Grand Hyatt hotel in Taipei the following day.
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