Taiwan venture capital industry struggles to make a comeback

This article was written by Graham Norris and published by the Taiwan Journal on August 5, 2005. It provides a detailed discussion of the past, present and future of Taiwan's venture capital industry.

Taiwan's venture capital industry was created in the 1980s with the government's help. The industry took off during the high-tech boom off the 1990s, and has helped create some of the nation's most successful high-tech companies, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., United Microelectronics Corp., and Acer Inc.

The industry suffered greatly at the end of the high-tech boom in 2001. Now it makes up less than 10 percent of the nation's financial industry.

Today, as the industry slowly begins to recover, it faces several big challenges. One is a lack of cash because investors have become more cautious. Another is a change in government policy - since 2000 the government has stopped offering a 20-percent tax credit on investments in venture capital funds.

Make sure you check out this article for more information about Taiwan's venture capital industry.