www.amcham.com.twwww.amcham.com.tw THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN TAIPEI IN OF COMMERCE THE AMERICAN CHAMBER THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN TAIPEI IN OF COMMERCE THE AMERICAN CHAMBER TaiwanTaiwan Business Business TopicsTopics TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS March 2015 | Vol. 45 | Issue 3 Vol. 2015 | March March 2015 | Vol. 45 | Issue 3 Vol. 2015 | March $VMUJWBUJOH4UBSUVQT$VMUJWBUJOH4UBSUVQT 培育新創企業培育新創企業 中 華 郵 政中 北 華台 郵字 政第 北 台 字 第 t*OEVTUSZ'PDVTPO-VYVSZ(PPETt*OEVTUSZ'PDVTPO-VYVSZ(PPET t)5$T6QTBOE%PXOTt)5$T6QTBOE%PXOT 5000 5000 號 執 照 登號 記 執為 照雜 登誌 記交 為寄 雜 誌 交 寄 March 2015March | Vol. 2015 45 | | Vol. Issue 45 3 | Issue 3 ISSUE SPONSORISSUE SPONSOR Published by the Published by the American Chamber AmericanOf Commerce Chamber Of Commerce In Taipei In Taipei NT$150 NT$150 3_2015_Cover.indd3_2015_Cover.indd 1 1 2015/3/1 9:10:16 PM2015/3/1 9:10:16 PM CONTENTS NEWS AND VIEWS MARCH 2015 VOLUME 45, NUMBER 3 6 Editorial 一○四年三月號 It’s Time to Set Energy Policy 訂定能源政策，此其時也 Publisher 發行人 Andrea Wu 吳王小珍 7 Taiwan Briefs Editor-in-Chief 總編輯 By Timothy Ferry Don Shapiro 沙蕩 Associate Editor 副主編 Tim Ferry 法緹姆 11 Issues Art Director/ 美術主任/ Reviewing Pharmaceutical Policy; Production Coordinator 後製統籌 Clarifying Investment Criteria; Katia Chen 陳國梅 Making the Rounds Manager, Publications Sales & Marketing 廣告行銷經理 Caroline Lee 李佳紋 檢討藥品政策；明文規定投資審查 Translation 翻譯 標準；拜訪政府部門 Jay Chen, Yichun Chen, Charlize Hung By Don Shapiro 陳正杰, 陳宜君, 洪兆怡 American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei COVER SECTION 129 MinSheng East Road, Section 3, 7F, Suite 706, Taipei 10596, Taiwan P.O. Box 17-277, Taipei, 10419 Taiwan 15 Startups: Making up for Lost Tel: 2718-8226 Fax: 2718-8182 e-mail: [email protected] Time website: http://www.amcham.com.tw 新創企業：彌補失落的時光 名稱：台北市美國商會工商雜誌 發行所：台北市美國商會 臺北市10596民生東路三段129號七樓706室 電話：2718-8226 傳真：2718-8182 For years, the regulatory and fund- ing environment in Taiwan was not Taiwan Business TOPICS is a publication of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, ROC. Contents are independent of and do not conducive to fostering new startup necessarily reflect the views of the Officers, Board of Governors, Supervisors or members. enterprises. Many would-be Taiwan- © Copyright 2015 by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, ROC. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint original material must ese entrepreneurs headed for Silicon be requested in writing from AmCham. Production done in-house, Printing by Farn Mei Printing Co., Ltd. Valley or other locations instead. But 登記字號：台誌第一零九六九號 印刷所：帆美印刷股份有限公司 lately the situation has changed, in 經銷商：台灣英文雜誌社 台北市108台北市萬華區長沙街二段66號 發行日期：中華民國一○四年三月 part because of government recogni- 中華郵政北台字第5000號執照登記為雜誌交寄 ISSN 1818-1961 tion that Taiwan was losing economic opportunities by not doing enough to The rising stars in the Taiwanese startup scene are an eclectic mix of Chairman/ Thomas Fann encourage entrepreneurial initiative. Vice Chairmen/ Scott Meikle / Dan Silver By Matthew Fulco young tech firms, spanning the res- Treasurer: Cosmas Lu Secretary: Fupei Wang taurant, retail, media, and education sectors. The one thing they have in 2014-2015 Governors: William E. Bryson Jr., Sean Chao, 24 Five Taiwanese Startups to Rodney Van Dooren, Cosmas Lu, Scott Meikle, Dan Silver, common is a global distribution plan. Gordon Stewart, Ken Wu. Watch 2015-2016 Governors: Margaret Driscoll, Thomas Fann, Ajit Nayak, Vincent Shih, Stephen Tan, Fupei Wang, Lee Wood. BOOKS 2015 Supervisors: Arthur Cozad, Kai Speth, Neal Stovicek,Wern-Yuen Tan, Neil Waters. 30 The Chinese Leadership COMMITTEES: and How They Reached Agro-Chemical/ Melody Wang; Asset Management/ Christine Jih, Derek Yung; Banking/ Victor Kuan; Capital Markets/ the Top Miranda Liaw, C.P. Liu, Shirley Tsai; Chemical Manufacturers/ Michael Wong; CSR/ Lume Liao, Fupei Wang; Customs & A review of The New Emperors: International Trade/ Stephen Tan; Education & Training/ Robert Lin, William Zyzo; Greater China Business/ Helen Power and the Princelings in China, Chou, Cosmas Lu; Human Resources/ Richard Lin, Seraphim Mar, Vickie Chen; Infrastructure/ L.C. Chen, Paul Lee; by Kerry Brown. Insurance/ Arthur Cozad, Joseph Day, Dan Ting; Intellectual By June Teufel Dreyer Property & Licensing/ Jason Chen, Peter Dernbach, Jeffrey Harris, Vincent Shih; Manufacturing/ Thomas Fan, Hans Huang; Marketing & Distribution/ Wei Hsiang, Gordon BEHIND THE NEWS Stewart; Medical Devices/ Cyndi Chang, Tse-Mau Ng, Dan TAIWAN BUSINESS Silver; Pharmaceutical/ Margaret E. Driscoll, David Lin, Jun Hong Park; Private Equity/ William Bryson; Public Health/ 27 Uber: Transportation or Jeffrey Chen, Dennis Lin; Real Estate/ Tony Chao; Retail/ 33 The Ups and Downs of HTC Prudence Jang, Ajit Nayak, Wern-Yuen Tan; Sustainable Information Company? Development/ Kenny Jeng, Kernel Wang; Tax/ Cheli Liaw, Despite controversy and heavy The smartphone maker is diversi- Josephine Peng; Technology/ Revital Golan, Scott Meikle, fying its product lineup in an effort Jeanne Wang; Telecommunications & Media/ Thomas Ee, fines, Uber persists in seeking its Joanne Tsai, Ken Wu; Transportation/ Michael Chu; Travel & to reverse its fortunes. Tourism/ Anita Chen, Pauline Leung, Achim v. Hake. niche in the Taiwan market. By Tim Ferry with Philip Liu By Jens Kastner 4 taiwan business topics • march 2015 3 Contents.indd 4 2015/3/1 9:00:05 PM March 2015 • VoluMe 45 nuMber 3 COVER SPONSOR INDUSTRY F CUS A Dedicated Corporate Citizen A Report on the Luxury Goods Sector Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices, and Elevating the Shopping Experience solutions that help people and business enterprises realize their full By Jules Quartly potential. 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F and representatives of civic groups – attended a National Not all those who opposed the Longmen plant – whose Energy Conference called by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. on-again, off-again construction schedule over many years raised The group debated the crucial issue facing Taiwan following Pres- questions about the integrity of the facility – would necessarily ident Ma Ying-jeou’s decision last year to suspend construction object to keeping the existing plants in operation, especially if the of the controversial Longmen nuclear power plant. In the absence alternative is power shortages weakening the Taiwan economy. of power generation from that facility, what should Taiwan do to The 40-year timespan is not an absolute condition. According to ensure sufficient energy supplies in the years ahead? a New York Times report, for example, most of the 100 nuclear To no one’s surprise, the conference ended with no agreement power plants in the United States have either already been on the best way forward. Proponents of making Taiwan a “nucle- granted license extensions or will likely receive them, generally ar-free homeland” argued that conservation and greater reliance for an additional 20 years. on green energy would make it possible to close down the island’s It is also important to note that the recommissioning process existing three nuclear plants (each with two reactors) when their entails rigorous upgrading in components, equipment, and tech- current lifecycles expire between 2018 and 2025. Other partici- nology that should increase public confidence in the relicensed pants countered that alternative sources such as solar and wind plants’ safety and reliability.