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2023 Business Climate Survey Results Show Measured Confidence, Not Complacency

AmCham Taiwan Chairperson Vincent Shih announced the results of the Chamber’s 2023 Business Climate Survey (BCS) on February 7 at a press conference held at the Shangri-la Far Eastern Hotel in Taipei. Around 20 media organizations were present at the event. Shih detailed the survey’s major findings, which were summarized in a 16-page report produced by AmCham. The report conveys the responses of 214 voting members, representing both international and domestic businesses, with most members holding upper management positions.

While overall confidence in Taiwan’s future economic performance decreased from its record high in 2022 to 71% in 2023, 88% said their companies were maintaining or even increasing investment in Taiwan. When asked about their confidence in the economy over the next three years, 79% expressed at lease some confidence, showing that the global economic headwinds companies are facing are believed to be short term.

Members also reported a decline in satisfaction with the regulatory environment. 46% say that Taiwan’s regulations are not updated in response to changing societal and economic needs, an increase of 11 percentage points from last year’s survey. Also in decline was the believed effectiveness of the Chamber’s White Paper meetings with the National Development Council – only five White Paper issues from 2021-22 were resolved.

Overall, Shih said, the BCS results reflect the consensus among member companies that Taiwan is an overwhelmingly positive environment for multinational companies. Additionally, member companies reported that a bilateral trade agreement with the United States would be of benefit to their organization, and are perhaps encouraged by the ongoing U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade talks. As a vital voice for the international business community in Taiwan with a stake in its future prosperity, AmCham is more than willing to aid in fostering and promoting Taiwan’s continued economic growth and deepen its trade relationship with the U.S. We encourage bold action from governments in Taipei and Washington, D.C. to make this a reality.

Answering questions from reporters, Shih noted that AmCham members’ continued investment in Taiwan mirrors record investment figures for 2022 recently released by the Investment Commission. He emphasized that recent heightened geopolitical tensions are not expected to dampen economic prospects, but that companies are being prudent in revising contingency plans.

A luncheon gathering followed the press conference. Following remarks from outgoing AmCham President Andrew Wylegala, Shih again presented the BCS results to an audience of 80 members and their guests. Newly-appointed deputy minister for foreign affairs, Dr. Roy Chun Lee shared some economic outlook predictions with guests, while the event concluded with some questions on the survey results and Dr. Lee’s presentation moderated by AmCham Standing Vice Chairperson Andrea Wu.

The survey report can be viewed and downloaded here.

2022 Business Climate Survey Results Show Record High Confidence

AmCham Taiwan Chairperson Vincent Shih announced the results of the Chamber’s 2022 Business Climate Survey (BCS) on January 19 at a press conference held on the 11th floor of the W Hotel. Around 17 media organizations were represented at the event. Shih detailed the survey’s major findings, which were summarized in a 16-page report produced by AmCham. The report conveys the responses of 178 voting members, who are all business leaders in Taiwan, with most holding upper management positions at their companies.

The Chamber was excited to disclose that a record percentage of respondents – over 87% – expressed confidence in Taiwan’s economic performance for the coming year, while those who held an optimistic outlook regarding the next three years was 83%, five percentage points higher than in 2021. In addition, an eye-popping 90% said held a positive view of their own company’s prospects over the next year, while an even higher 91% were upbeat about the upcoming three-year period. Shih observed that this confidence is also reflected in member companies’ extensive investments in recent months and years.

Regarding Taiwan’s COVID-19 pandemic control, members expressed a high degree of satisfaction – more than 78% said they were very or somewhat satisfied with the government’s efforts to control the COVID-19 outbreak so far. Although this represents a decrease from 2021, it nevertheless reflects an overall high level of confidence in the government’s ability to combat COVID-19. Members overwhelmingly favored a gradual border reopening; however, such an easing of restrictions would need to meet certain criteria, such as a 70+% full vaccination rate among Taiwan’s population and a demonstrated capacity of the island’s hospitals to manage both COVID and non-COVID patients.

Overall, Shih said, the BCS results reflect the consensus among member companies that Taiwan is an overwhelmingly positive environment for multinational companies. Additionally, nearly all survey respondents were confident that the Bilingual Nation 2030 policy would benefit Taiwan’s economic development, regardless of which date the goal is reached. As a vital voice for the international business community in Taiwan with a stake in its future prosperity, AmCham is more than willing to aid in fostering and promoting Taiwan’s continued economic growth.

Answering questions from reporters, Shih noted that AmCham members’ expectations of strong economic growth for Taiwan in 2022 are closely aligned with the optimistic forecasts made by major financial institutions. He emphasized that recent heightened geopolitical tensions are not expected to dampen economic prospects for the island. Furthermore, although COVID-19 has inhibited the influx of talent, companies expressed an overall high level of satisfaction regarding their ability to recruit enough and sufficiently capable personnel for their operations in Taiwan.

A luncheon gathering held in the W Hotel’s eighth-floor ballroom followed the press conference. Following an introduction by AmCham Treasurer Terry Tsao, Shih again presented the BCS results to an audience of 60 members and their guests. A fruitful discussion among members on specific issues related to Taiwan’s business climate ensued thereafter.

 

To download and view the complete report, click here.

 

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Note: AmCham events are intended primarily for AmCham members and their guests. Many events are open to members’ guests and other non-members, but the attendance of any non-member must be approved in advance. AmCham reserves the right not to admit a non-member to any event without explanation.

AmCham President Leo Seewald Announces Results of 2021 Business Climate Survey

AmCham Taiwan President Leo Seewald announced the results of the Chamber’s 2021 Business Climate Survey (BCS) on January 21 at a press conference held on the 11th floor of the W Hotel. Around 15 media organizations were represented at the event. Seewald detailed the survey’s findings, which were illustrated in a 16-page report produced by AmCham. He emphasized that survey-takers were all business leaders in Taiwan, with most holding upper management positions at their companies.

The Chamber was excited to disclose that a record percentage of respondents – close to 86% – expressed confidence about the economic prospects for the coming year, 16 percentage points higher than in the 2020 survey. There was also a record high level of optimism regarding the 3-year economic outlook, although it was a slightly lower 78%. Seewald observed that this could indicate businesses’ concern about the future trajectory of the global economy.

2021 Business Climate Survey: AmCham President Leo Seewald presents results

In regard to Taiwan’s efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic, members nearly unanimously expressed their satisfaction. A high 64% said they were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the economic relief efforts over the past year, a 23 percentage point increase from when that question was posed to members in a COVID-19 flash survey conducted last April.

Overall, Seewald said, the results of the BCS reflect the consensus among member companies that Taiwan is an overwhelmingly positive environment for multinationals. Furthermore, the U.S.-China trade dispute and Taiwan’s excellent handling of COVID-19 have presented it with a golden opportunity, one that it needs to take advantage of, particularly in the areas of bilingualism and attracting and retaining foreign talent. As a representative of the international business community in Taiwan with a stake in its future prosperity, AmCham is more than willing to aid in any way it can.

Fielding questions from reporters, Seewald said that he didn’t expect a drastic change in the U.S.’ policy toward Taiwan now that President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has taken office. In any case, he said, such policy is not just the will of the president, but rather requires consensus from everyone in the government. Fortunately, there has been a growing recognition across the political aisle in Washington that Taiwan is a valuable partner with shared values and a similar global outlook.

A luncheon gathering followed the press conference at the W Hotel’s 8th-floor ballroom. AmCham Chairperson CW Chin presented the BCS results to an audience of 70 members and their guests. National Development Council Deputy Minister Shih Keh-her also provided some brief remarks, thanking Chamber members for their strong show of confidence in the Taiwan economy and highlighting the government’s major initiatives to drive development and improve the island’s business environment.

See the full presentation below or download the complete report, click here.

Interested in attending our events? Join us at other upcoming events, click here.

Note: AmCham events are intended primarily for AmCham members and their guests. Many events are open to members’ guests and other non-members, but the attendance of any non-member must be approved in advance. AmCham reserves the right not to admit a non-member to any event without explanation.

Chairman C.W. Chin Announces Results of the 2020 Business Climate Survey

The results of AmCham Taipei’s 2020 Business Climate Survey were presented by Chamber Chairman C.W. Chin at a news conference held in the Chamber’s Lincoln Room on March 4. Over 30 local and international media organizations attended the briefing, which was followed by a special membership luncheon.

Compared with the 2019 survey results, a higher percentage of companies this year expressed optimism regarding Taiwan’s economic performance over the next 12 months, as well as the next three years. Although the COVID-19 outbreak led to a reduced proportion of positive responses in the latter part of the survey period, confidence about future economic growth and business prospects remained high overall.

 

In addition, C.W. Chin emphasized that while respondents in the 2019 BCS were worried about the uncertainty caused by the U.S.-China trade dispute, almost half of companies surveyed this year viewed the tensions as having a positive effect on their business in Taiwan. Only 10.75% responded that the dispute has had a large impact on their business.

Chin said that a few major issues continue to cause concern among the Chamber’s members. Chief among these are Taiwan’s future energy supply, including power supply sufficiency, voltage stability, and the cost of electricity; labor policies on working hours and overtime; and the regulatory environment.

Furthermore, respondents highlighted the importance of bilateral trade and investment agreements between Taiwan and the U.S. to their business, and urged the early resumption of talks to resolve outstanding trade and investment issues between the two sides.

Speaking with reporters after the presentation, C.W. Chin praised Taiwan’s disease prevention efforts in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, which may have reassured some survey-takers. He also spoke in positive terms about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent emergency interest rate cut, noting that since most of the Chamber’s members are U.S. companies, reducing the cost of capital by lowering interest rates will help them through this crisis.

The 2020 Business Climate Survey was conducted between January and February this year. Top executives of 391 member companies completed the survey, a response rate of 50.3%.

Technical guidance for the survey was provided by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy.

See the full presentation below or download the complete report, click here.

Chairman Leo Seewald Announces Results of the 2019 Business Climate Survey

AmCham Taipei Chairman Leo Seewald presented the results of the Chamber’s 2019 Business Climate Survey at a news conference followed by a membership luncheon on January 23. More than 30 Taiwan media organizations came to the briefing, which was held at the Chamber’s Lincoln Room.

The online survey was conducted for AmCham by PwC Taiwan between November and December of 2018, with 179 top executives of AmCham’s member companies responding.

Chamber President William Foreman opened the event by explaining the significance of the Business Climate Survey and why the feedback from members is so important to the Chamber. He stressed that a large number of survey respondents are well-experienced, high-level executives from multinationals that are deeply invested in Taiwan for over twenty years. Taiwan’s economic development will reflect the success of multinationals operating in Taiwan.

The Chairman highlighted that the survey respondents were significantly less confident about Taiwan’s economic outlook compared to the previous year. Factors causing concern for global companies include the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute, the U.S. administration’s “American First” trade policy, pressure on Taiwan from China, and cyber-security threats. On a positive note, most companies are bullish about their own profitability and are confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months to 3 years.

Seewald, who is Chairman/Managing Director of BlackRock Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited, noted three key areas that required the government’s attention:

  • Government regulations and rules-making process: further reforms are needed to meet the needs of a knowledge-based economy. Results indicated modest improvement in satisfaction in regards to Taiwan’s regulatory environment when compared to the previous year. Survey-takers would like to see the government communicating more with businesses when new regulations and policies are passed.
  • Energy: sufficiency of future power supplies. Nearly 90% of businesses are worried about the adequacy of future power supplies; 73% concerned about voltage stability; and 70% concerned about electricity cost.
  • Labor policies: more flexibility is needed to meet companies’ needs. For more than half the companies, labor issues will be a major factor in whether they expand operations in Taiwan. Furthermore, about half the respondents said the latest amendments to Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act did not provide sufficient flexibility in the treatment of professional employees.

The presentation was repeated at a luncheon held at the Sherwood Taipei, which was attended by over 50 AmCham members and guests. See the full presentation below or download the complete report, click here.

2019 Business Climate Survey Presentation from AmCham Taipei

AmCham Delegation Calls on new Premier Su Tseng-chang

AmCham Taipei representatives led by Chairman Leo Seewald met with Premier Su Tseng-chang on January 21 to congratulate him on his recent appointment as premier. The Premier was accompanied by National Development Council Minister Chen Mei-ling and other officials from the Executive Yuan.

Besides Mr. Seewald, who is the Chairman/Managing Director of BlackRock Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited, the AmCham delegation consisted of:

  • William Foreman, AmCham Taipei President.
  • Dylan Tyson, AmCham Taipei Supervisor and Insurance Committee Co-Chair, who is President & CEO of Prudential Life Insurance Company of Taiwan Inc.
  • Don Shapiro, AmCham Taipei Senior Director and Editor-in-Chief, Taiwan Business TOPICS
  • Amy Chang, AmCham Taipei Senior Director of Government and Public Affairs