Page 12 - Biomedicine

Early Opportunities to Build a Stronger
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Presence in Asia-Pacific Markets

As countries in the Asia-Pacic region experience demographic aging and the
economies of China and various Southeast Asian countries grow stronger, the demand
for basic medicine, home care, health promotion, and medication is significantly
increasing, driving rapid growth of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical markets
in Asia. Foreign investors -- taking note of Taiwan's industrial base, its advantageous
geographical location, its strong ability to link up with international markets, and
the government's preferential tax policies and R&D subsidies -- can choose to locate
regional headquarters or R&D production sites in Taiwan. A recent amendment to the
"Regulations Governing the Administration or Use of Specific Medical Technology-
based Testing or Laboratory Medical Instruments" features the lifting of restrictions on
cell therapy and autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation. As
a result, Taiwan is now second only to Japan in the use of autologous immune cells for
the treatment of various types of cancer, which will help foreign investors to explore
for advanced medical care markets the Asia-Pacic region.

Investment Incentive

Measures

1 Tax incentives

Taiwan's prot-seeking enterprise income tax rate is 20%. To encourage foreign
companies to invest in Taiwan, support industrial innovation, and promote industry-
academia collaboration, foreign companies are eligible for the following preferential
taxes (Table 1):

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