Taiwan emerged tops among five Asian locations for building a bio-technology industry, but China is the market to watch, an SG Securities report said yesterday.
The study rated China and Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Taiwan and Singapore on factors such as government leadership, research, protection of intellectual property rights and access to capital.
Following Taiwan were Singapore, China-Hong Kong, South Korea and India.
But SG securities noted that Asia's bio-tech landscape is dynamic and that these positions could quickly change. China's
entry into the WTO was cited as the biggest short-term catalyst.
"China is the market to watch, as we think it has the potential to nurture Asia's long-term winners," said Foo Fatt Kah, head of research.
China also has a huge science base, a massive domestic market and competitive labor and development costs.
Taiwan has many elements in place for the successful development of a bio-tech industry, the study said, noting strong intellectual property protection, good infrastructure and networks, and ample funding.
"Singapore's success [in bio-technology] in the next five years will depend on its ability to bring in foreign talent and technology through alliances and collaborations," the report said.
The small number of professionals in the field and non-entrepreneurial culture were mentioned as obstacles.
In terms of intellectual property rights, Singapore leads the field in Asia, the study said. Strong government policies and funding and good infrastructure were mentioned as strengths.
The city-state wants to make the biomedical sciences the "fourth pillar" of its economy after electronics, chemicals and engineering.
In related news, National Chiao Tung University and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) signed an agreement yesterday to jointly sponsor a research and development center on the university's campus.
The center will focus on research projects in the fields of wireless communication, broadband multimedia technology, opto-electronics, distance cooperative learning, system-on-chip technology and nanotechnology.
Addressing the center's opening ceremony, National Science Council Chairman Wei Che-ho (
Universities maintain 65 percent of Taiwan's research and development capability and it is important to have proper channels to transfer the technologies and innovations from the academic institutions to the industry, according to Chang Chung-yen (張俊彥), president of National Chiao Tung University.
In the past ITRI has contributed greatly to the establishment of contacts between academic circles and industry. ITRI president Shih Chin-tay (
The institute regularly offers training for 1,000 technical personnel from the industry, he added.
In July 1996, ITRI set up an incubation center next to the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (
Under the cooperation agreement, the two institutions can exchange research and development personnel and share the achievements of their research projects.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS