With the help of University of Chicago professor Chin-Tu Chen, Taiwanese medical equipment makers are determined to strengthen their position in the international market. Dr. Chen was invited by Taiwan’s National Health Research Institute (NHRI) to assist in the development of the country’s medical equipment and biomedical instrument industries. Currently, medical equipment manufacturers are utilizing two means to establish a foothold in the international market: 1) through contract production, and 2) by aggressively promoting Taiwanese own-brand products in developing countries.
Dr. Chen believes that Taiwan’s medical equipment market has the most promise for growth of local companies. Through utilizing infrastructure that is currently available, such as industrial infrastructure for electronics, semiconductors, and telecommunications, Taiwanese companies can produce medical equipment relatively quickly. Through the integration of these infrastructures, local medical manufacturers will be able to win more contract production business from international companies.
Local medical equipment makers are heeding Dr. Chen’s advice by planning a joint international marketing company to assist them in penetrating emerging markets. Among the local companies that will be major investors in this venture are: Bioteque Corporation, President Life Sciences Company, and Apex Medical Corporation. Medical equipment manufacturers recognized the need for assistance in promoting their products in the international market due to intense competition particularly from China. Prospective shareholders of the marketing venture proposed that the company be initially capitalized at $575,000. In order to promote these ventures, the Taiwanese government has also announced that it would be subsidizing certain international marketing ventures. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), the government will set aside a budget of $5.2 million for relevant endeavors in 2004.