Tag: taiwan

  • The tough way to make a smartphone dollar

    The tough way to make a smartphone dollar

    Times are getting even tougher for Apple’s competitors with Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC falling out of Taiwan’s main stock market index after their share price fell 66% over the last year.

    Coupled with reports that Korea’s Samsung is laying off ten percent of their workforce, it’s clear the smartphone industry is by no means a license to print money.

    Making matters worse for the sector, Apple will be announcing a refresh tomorrow morning which will almost certainly hurt the competition further.

    For the marketplace, particularly as one as important as the smartphone market, having only one profitable supplier is not a good thing. The challenge though is for Apple’s competitors to find a way to make a profit.

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  • Taiwan as a destination for inspired team bonding

    Taiwan as a destination for inspired team bonding

    This is a paid post as part of the Nuffnang blogger program

    Last year the Taiwanese trade promotion agency MEET TAIWAN launched Asia Super Team, an Asian business contest to promote the island as a desirable destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.

    In its second year, the contest has been expanded to Australian businesses, with the Aussie finalist winning an all-expenses-paid tour of Taiwan to experience the beauty of the country’s incentive offering. The global winner will receive an incentive travel package to Taiwan worth USD 50,000 plus MEET TAIWAN will donate USD 5,000 to a charity of the winner’s choice.

    The Asia Super Team contest starts with an online proposal submission, followed by public voting to determine the finalist from each country – this year being Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand – who will win a trip to Taiwan to attend the final stage of the competition.

    Often overlooked by MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition) travellers, Taiwan is a unique destination. While the West Coast strip is one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturing centres, most of the island is rugged and picturesque, overlaid with a complex Twentieth Century history. The capital of Taipei and the second city of Kaohsiung are vibrant, global cities.

    To enter the competition the online stage invites organisations to submit an itinerary proposal illustrating their passion and understanding of Taiwan’s incentive travel attractions. The contestants then share their proposals on social media to help attract the highest number of public votes, determining the finalists who will go through to the tour in Taiwan.

    For the successful finalists the tour of Taiwan includes participating in a five-day-four-night competition that will test them with a series of team-bonding challenges. These may include hunter training in an indigenous tribe in Leshui; performing a drum session with Grammy nominated Ten Drum Art Percussion Group at the Ten Drum Ciaotou Creative Park in Kaohsiung; and singing popular Taiwanese songs on board Taiwan’s parade floats.

    The public can vote for their favourite proposal on social media to be entered into a draw to win round-trip China Airlines air tickets to Taiwan.

    The overall winner will receive an incentive travel package to Taiwan valued at USD 50,000 and a donation from MEET Taiwan of USB 5,000 to the not-for-profit of their choice.

    Registration and proposal submissions to Asia Super Team: Team Up for Good are open and run until 30 August with the public voting running from August 3 until 30 August 2015. You can enter through the MEET TAIWAN website.

    As one of East Asia’s economic powerhouses with a fascinating history and spectacular scenery, Taiwan is well worth a visit.

    This is a sponsored post brought to you by Nuffnang and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA)

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  • Taiwan enters the startups race

    Taiwan enters the startups race

    Battered by a declining Chinese market for its manufacturing goods, Taiwan is having to look elsewhere for its economic growth.

    Startups are one idea report Reuters News describing how the Taiwanese National Development Council set up HeadStart a year ago to create an tech entrepreneur ecosystem by relaxing regulations for registering start-ups, matching funds invested into projects and creating tech hubs.

    So far HeadStart has attracted around $US 438 million in funds and now Alibaba founder Jack Ma says he wanted to set up a $300 million fund to support Taiwanese entrepreneurs.

    While the Reuters piece focuses on the ecosystem built around fading smartphone maker HTC and the major computer chip fabricators, Taiwan’s strength may well lie in its small business roots as much of the island’s industrial strength has been built, like Japan’s, on its army of small family firms supplying the larger companies.

    That Taiwan needs to diversify its economy is a warning to other less advanced economies that depending on a narrow band of exports leaves a nation open to external risks. It might be time for others to be looking at how to encourage their entrepreneurs.

    Image of Taiwanese bronze buddha by Shirley B through freeimages.com

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