With an eye on Asia's vast market, Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park is working hard to attract a European vaccine maker to set up operations in the park in a bid to make Taiwan a regional vaccine hub.
The nation's only agricultural biotech park was completed in 2007. Under the park's plan, 10 major biotech industries are expected to enter in three stages, Chen Chien-bin (陳建斌), director of the park administration, said on Friday.
To date, the park administration has approved 59 applications to set up operations. Fourteen are already operational, and six to seven have leased land for construction of their factories, Chen said.
The second phase involves 32 companies, which are building their factory facilities. Most of the companies are Chinese herbal medicine and organic products manufacturers that have the potential of producing NT$3 billion (US$87.2 million) in annual revenues, making it the largest industry in the park.
The third phase involves two animal vaccine manufacturers. One is HealthBaby Biotech, a subsidiary of Taiwan's largest blood bank company, HealthBanks Biotech, which began factory construction last week.
The other is a veterinary vaccine company in Germany that is still studying the feasibility of entering a joint venture with a local enterprise to operate in the park. Both sides will each invest NT$2.5 billion in the joint venture if the deal is hammered out, Chen said.
The park administration was optimistic that the joint venture would be set up in the park this year.
Once construction of HealthBaby plant is completed at the end of next year, Chen said the company could create NT$1.5 billion in annual export revenue, compared with an annual output of NT$500 million to NT$600 million generated by seven local animal vaccine firms, and between NT$30 million and NT$40 million in exports.
Taiwan's annual animal vaccine demand is estimated at NT$1.5 billion to NT$1.6 billion, with imports accounting for about NT$1 billion.
While the biotech industry offers huge potential for development given the growing demand for animal vaccines in Southeast Asia, it costs up to NT$100 million to build a factory, Chen said.
The administration is therefore working to attract international companies to set up operations in the park and create joint business opportunities, Chen said.
Taiwan, with its rich pool of research and development talent, has attracted the interest of many foreign companies, which are studying the feasibility of setting up factories in the country, Chen said.
If an animal vaccine hub focusing on the Asian market were established in Taiwan, it could create more than NT$2 billion in export value in five years and boost the development of peripheral industries, Chen said.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV