Taiwan Country Profile business trade issues

Taiwan

DOING BUSINESS

Local business incentives - Legal forms of companies - Registration and licensing procedures - Legal framework - Foreign exchange control - Regulations concerning equity investment - FDI inflows - Expertise of the political risk

Local business incentives

The Taiwanese government encourages foreign investments. Statute for Enterprise Upgrading grants tax incentives to Limited Companies. Foreign investors can also contact the Industrial Development and Investment Center, which is a division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs to get further information on investment conditions in Taiwan.

Legal forms of companies

Form	Number of partners/shareholders	Minimum and/or maximum capital	Liability	Registration fee	Release of financial documents
Limited Company is a Private Limited Company.	Minimum 5 partners. Maximum 21.	NT$ 500,000, totally subscribed at the constitution.	Liability is limited to the amount contributed.	NT$ 3 for each NT$ 12,000 + NT$ 2,000 (registration certificate fees).	No
Company Limited by shares is a Public Limited Company.	At least 7 partners.	NT$ 1,000,000. 25% must be released at the constitution.	Liability is limited to the amount contributed.	NT$ 3 for each NT$ 12,000 + NT$ 2,000 (registration certificate fees).	Yes
Unlimited Company is a General partnership	Minimum 2.	No minimum capital	Liability is unlimited	NT$ 3 for each NT$ 12.000 + NT$ 2,000 (registration certificate fees).	No
Limited partnership (SCS)	2 types of partners: active partners and sleeping partners.	No minimum capital	Liability is unlimited for active partners and limited for sleeping partners.	NT$ 3 for each NT$ 12,000 + NT$ 2,000 (registration certificate fees).	No

Registration and licensing procedures
Limited Company and Limited Company by Shares are the most spread in Taiwan.
However, other forms of establishment such as representation offices and branches exist in Taiwan. Representation offices do not have a legal personality.

Foreign exchange control
Currency exchange controls, suppressed in 1987, have been re-established in 1998.
Free conversion of currencies is carried out as well as the right to transfer profits and capital.

Regulations concerning equity investment
A majority holding interest in the capital of a Taiwanese company is legal provided that currency exchange controls are respected.

Foreign Direct Investment inflows in Taiwan

FDI inflows	2003	2004	2005	World rank (*) 2005
FDI inflows (USD million)	453	1898	1 625	126/141

Source : UNCTAD - World Investment Report
Note : (*) World Rank = UNCTAD Inward FDI Performance Index. It is a measure of the extend to which a host country receives inward FDI relative to its economic size. It is calculated as a ratio of the country's share in global FDI inflows to its share in global GDP.

Last modified in 2006 - ongoing update