Taiwan has the third largest foreign exchange reserves in the world and abundant sources of capital. According to the ROC Venture Capital Business Association, up to the end of 2003 Taiwan had 214 venture capital companies; with cases pertaining to biotech and pharmaceuticals reaching 340, and with a total investment amount of NT$161.94 billion. According to the Commerce Dept., MOEA, in 2003 the total invested in biotech and pharmaceuticals was NT$21.3 billion, showing that the sector had become a major focus of venture capitalists. In recent years, professional biotech VC companies and funds have emerged, for example, the MDS Biotech Fund, CDIB Biotech Venture Inc., Millennium Biotech Venture Capital Corp., as well as the Executive Yuan's Development Fund, the NHRI, ITRI and Academia Sinica, all of which have raised funds to set up the "Biotech Venture Capital Seed Fund" for new biotech companies provides a rich source of capital for Taiwan's burgeoning biotech industry. |
