The Taipei City Government is to establish an angel investment fund of NT$2 billion (US$71.85 million) to be used over five years to foster the growth of innovative industries, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said on Wednesday last week.
Ko said that Taiwan’s industrial sector was mostly comprised of original equipment manufacturing, but such practices could not indefinitely support Taiwan’s gross national income.
The Startup@Taipei office has assisted more than 30,000 start-up inquiries, provided NT$1.98 billion in start-up funding and helped negotiate more than NT$2.5 billion in start-up loans since 2015. To go beyond this success, the city government is to establish angel investment funds directly, Ko said.
Start-up investments are to take the form of stock ownership, Ko said, adding this method demonstrates responsible politics.
The Taipei City Ordinance for Receiving, Safekeeping, and Using Industry Development Funds (台北市產業發展基金收支保管及運用自治條例) was forwarded to the Taipei City Council for deliberation earlier this year, Ko said.
Taipei Department of Economic Development Commissioner Lin Chung-chieh (林崇傑) said that current subsidies only provide a single person or organization a one-time maximum subsidy of NT$5 million.
The ordinance would allow the government to collect some profit, which could then be invested in other start-ups, Lin said, adding that the funds would target technology and biotech companies.
The funds would be directed mostly to companies in Taipei, he said, adding that the city government would sell its stock within seven to 10 years after the investment pays for itself.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
A senior US senator on Monday questioned the willingness of some US allies to help defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. Although Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) expects the US and Japan to respond in a war in the Taiwan Strait, he was “a little less confident what our other allies would do,” US Senator John Cornyn said. Australia and New Zealand have voiced support for Taiwan, but it “is a far cry from committing troops to repel an invasion,” Cornyn said during a discussion on China, Russia and the state of US military readiness at a forum hosted
TOURISM BOOST: The transportation system could help attract more visitors to the area, as the line is to connect multiple cultural sites, a city councilor said Residents in New Taipei City’s Ankeng District (安坑) said the local light rail system might have a positive influence, but raised questions about its practicality. The Ankeng light rail system, which is to commence operations after the Lunar New Year holiday, would cut travel time for commuters from Ankeng to downtown Taipei or New Taipei City by 15 to 20 minutes, the city government said. According to the initial plan, there would be one train every 15 minutes during peak time and additional interval trains would run between the densely populated Ankang Station (安康) and Shisizhang Station (十 四張). To encourage people to
CHAMPION TREES: The team used light detection and ranging imaging to locate the tree, and found that it measured a height of 84.1m and had a girth of 8.5m A team committed to finding the tallest trees in the nation yesterday said that an 84.1m tall Taiwania cryptomerioides tree had been named the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia. The Taiwan Champion Trees, a team consisting of researchers from the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), in June last year used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imaging to find the giant tree, numbered 55214, upstream of the Daan River (大安溪). A 20-member expedition team led by Rebecca Hsu (徐嘉君), an assistant researcher at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, set out to find the
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