Taipei, located at the northern tip of Taiwan, is Taiwan’s political and economic center. With an eye on encouraging investment and business growth, Taiwan prides itself in a transparent and simple business system. A business can be registered and fully set up in as little as 7 business days. A great resource is: onestop.nat.gov.tw.
The High Value Service Industry is a booming and going concern for the Taiwanese Government; medical, technology and other valued human resources are highly sought after.
Taipei and Beijing have a treaty allowing direct cross-strait shipping and liberalized trade.
With this treaty, a stable political system, an educated and reliable workforce, and strong legal and financial institutions, Taipei effectively serves as a gateway for businesses looking for opportunities in China.
With personal relationships taking priority, doing business in Taiwan is all about meeting people and fostering friendships. Handshakes are the most common form of greeting, although less firm than in the West, greetings are formal and the oldest person in a group is always greeted first.
It is advisable to avoid declining a social invitation. When your Taiwanese counterpart asks you to dinner, it’s a sincere offer; turning down the invitation might seem innocent enough in the West, but this can strain a growing relationship in Taiwan.
At dinner, you may wonder who pays, and there are some “face” issues involved, as with many Asian nations, pride and embarrassment (or “saving face”) carries a great deal of meaning. So, paying for dinner is ALWAYS a discussion. If you can find a good reason to be the one who pays for the first dinner, then your Taiwanese host will accept that without any loss of face, the polite thing no matter what, is to argue about it, and at one point, someone has to say ‘Okay, I’ll get it next time’, usually, the foreign businessperson.
Taiwan is a region of savvy, informed business people. If your strategy is well planned and a fit and your approach professional, success is attainable for you and your new Taiwanese partners!
