SME's in Taiwan Over the past 50 years the SMEs have made an important contribution to Taiwan's rapid economic growth and the fast industrialization process. According to sales-tax data from the Ministry of Finance there were over 1.14 million SMEs in Taiwan at the end of 2003 accounting for 97.83% of all enterprises. The total number of persons employed by SMEs was 7.42 million, accounting for 77.56% of all employed persons. Taiwan's SMEs had total sales of NT$8,707 billion, accounting for 31.47% of total sales of all enterprises, In the last few years, the internationalization and abroad transplantation of our enterprises had caused SME's direct exports share of Taiwan's total exports to fall slightly, accounted for 18.11% of total exports. SMEs'direct exports were approximately NT$1.3 trillion. In Taiwan SMEs maintain co-members of supply chain of large enterprises. They manufacture components and semi-finished products for large enterprises to assemble customer-need goods and then export. Therefore the SMEs' indirect exports were estimated about 20% of total exports. There were111 ~507 new SMEs started up in 2003~ with total sales of NT$295.3 billion. This accounted for 3.39% of total SME sales. According to the industry~ commerce and service census in 2001,SMEs' gross production had accounted for 42.77% of total gross production. It is clear from the above data that SMEs have made an excellent performance towards promoting economic development, expanding international trade, creating job opportunities and raising nation income. Taiwan positive example of SME development policy A recent United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCATD) report on the role of government policy on industrial competitiveness, claiming that globalization and liberalization are not sufficient to guarantee successful economic development, but that proper government industrial policy is also required, states that the four Asian Tigers (Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore) are the most successful examples of pairing globalization with government policy. Small and Medium Enterprise Administration The Small and Medium Enterprise Administration has established mechanisms for providing guidance in the areas of business establishment and innovation. The Administration provides information and consulting services, and has established a new business establishment Web site. The Administration holds competitions and exhibitions relating to innovation and entrepreneurial activity, and has established a “New Business Establishment and Innovation College” to provide SMEs with opportunities in this respect. The Administration provides new enterprises with guidance in the areas of financial and marketing planning. It helps entrepreneurs to secure financing, encourages SME development companies, venture capital funds and financial institutions to invest in SMEs , formulates ancillary mechanisms for enterprise start-up, and works to create an environment beneficial to the development of new start-ups. Taiwan SMEs to get mainland loans
Updated: 2006-07-08 05:07 Beijing has decided to provide special loans to small- and medium-sized Taiwan-funded enterprises on the mainland in a financial programme to woo businesses from the island. Chen Yunlin, minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remark on Friday during a meeting with a delegation of Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang (KMT). "We will encourage commercial banks to offer special credits" to agricultural firms as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) funded by Taiwan investors on the mainland, Chen said. The mainland government has always paid great attention to the financial needs of Taiwan enterprises on the mainland, he added. Sources said the Taiwan Affairs Office is due to sign an agreement with the Beijing-based Huaxia Bank on Monday to help ease the financial shortage of some Taiwan SMEs. The programme consists of a special credit fund and preferential loan policies for these firms. The latest economic sweetener came after the China Development Bank, one of the mainland's three policy banks, offered 30 billion yuan (US$3.75 billion) in loans to Taiwan investors last September. Chen said the mainland would further enhance exchanges and communication with the KMT to strengthen cross-Straits economic links. "We will make concrete efforts to safeguard the interests of Taiwan compatriots and promote their businesses on the mainland," he told the KMT delegation. Delegation head Tseng Yung-chuan, director of the KMT's "central policy committee," welcomed the mainland move. The financial support will help these firms "upgrade their production and sharpen their competitive edge," he told reporters at a later press conference. Despite political tensions, cross-Straits economic ties have grown stronger over the past two decades. By the end of 2005, Taiwan investors had funded 68,095 projects on the mainland, with contract investment of US$89.69 billion. Trade volume between the two sides reached US$91.23 billion last year, with the mainland being Taiwan's biggest export market and largest source of trade surplus.
|
