President Tsai Ing-wen attended the opening ceremony for the 2019 BIO Asia-Taiwan Conference and Exhibition on the morning of July 25. She stated that Taiwan is internationally renowned for its prowess and innovative capabilities in healthcare and is actively engaging in international exchanges and cooperation, making contributions to the world, and showing the world that "Taiwan can help."

The theme of this year's conference, the president stated, is "Biotech as the Next Growth Engine for Asia." Taiwan shares the same goal for the biomedical industry under our government's "5+2 industrial innovation program."

The president continued by stating that in working to establish a complete industrial ecosystem over the past three years, we have been guided by the three-part principle of "joining local industries together, connecting to the world, and building links to the future." We have particularly focused on talent recruitment and retention, legislative adjustments, and fundraising, she said, and we intend to turn Taiwan into a hub for biomedical research and development in the Asia-Pacific. In fact, she continued, we have already established biomedical clusters in Taipei, Hsinchu, and Kaohsiung.

President Tsai pointed out that 2018 was a banner year for biomedicine in Taiwan. Both industrial output and investments in Taiwan's biomedical industry grew by more than 5% from the previous year. Combined revenues for listed companies also grew 11% year-on-year. Market capitalization for Taiwan's biomedical industry has reached NT$890.4 billion, she said, and we are confident that biomedicine will be Taiwan's next "trillion-NT-dollar industry."

The president further pointed out that 14 of the world's 200 largest hospitals are in Taiwan, ranking third in the world and first in Asia. Each year we carry out hundreds of clinical studies, both to support the development of new domestic pharmaceuticals and in collaboration with major international companies. This helps keep Taiwan at the cutting edge of international medical research and attracts more international firms to invest in Taiwan, she said.

In closing, the president expressed confidence that given our formidable biomedical R&D capabilities and strengths in semiconductor, software, and hardware manufacturing, Taiwan has much to contribute to the world. Together, she said, we can take advantage of growing trends and seize opportunities to drive the development of Taiwan's biomedical industry.

【2019-07-25 / Presidential office】