A government-initiated program, supported by the National Development Fund (NDF), has invested NT$11.31 billion (US$358.84 million) in 334 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan since 2007 with solid results, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The program has helped drive NT$11.03 billion in private investment, supported 109 companies in going public and obtained 8,705 patents at home and abroad, Small and Medium Enterprise Startup Administration Director-General Lee Guann-jyh (李冠志) told a news conference in Taipei.
DISPOSAL GAINS
Photo: Liao Chia-ning, Taipei Times
Cumulative disposal gains from these investments totaled NT$5.377 billion, delivering an overall return of 47.09 percent, while creating more than 34,000 jobs, agency data showed.
The NDF allocated NT$10 billion for the program during the first phase from 2007 to 2022, and injected another NT$10 billion in the second phase beginning in 2023, Lee said.
Alongside partners such as start-up accelerators, strategic investors and venture capital firms, investment in a single company is capped at NT$100 million per round and NT$150 million in total, he said.
The NDF can invest at a ratio of up to 2:1 with partners, with its stake generally not exceeding 20 percent of a company’s paid-in capital and taking preferred shares for any excess, Lee said.
In addition, total government ownership in a company must remain below 49 percent and the government cannot be the largest shareholder, he said.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE EFFORT
The program drew NT$18.25 billion in combined public and private investments in the first phase, and has so far garnered NT$4.09 billion in investments for the second phase, which is to run through 2030, Lee said.
Investments in the second phase mainly align with the government’s 13 strategic industries, with biotechnology and healthcare accounting for the largest share, followed by semiconductors and artificial intelligence, he said.
Lee said 49 companies have been funded in the second phase, which aims to invest in more than 100 SMEs and start-ups with a projected return rate of more than 50 percent.
The program also targets to support about 30 percent of firms to go public and generate more than 5,000 jobs, he added.
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