Investment & Market Entry Resources

Two sources of entry support

Investment and Entry Resources is for companies preparing to set up in Taiwan or to find local partners. It describes two sources of support: official investment services, and the network of the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Association, R.O.C. and the four alliances. Official services deal with approval, land and cross-agency coordination. The network deals with partners, investors and overseas channels. Applications always go through official channels.

A sensible order is to confirm the official procedure first, then add the network. If your sector needs approval, its timing affects when funds can arrive and when incorporation can proceed. Talks with partners and suppliers can run alongside the preparation of application documents. Keep a dated record of each official reply, since it will support later applications.

The InvesTaiwan Service Center

The main official entry point is the InvesTaiwan Service Center, part of the Department of Investment Promotion at the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). Its portal is InvestTaiwan. According to the portal, the Executive Yuan designated the centre as the single point of contact for investment. It supports investors before, during and after the investment. Before: information, assessment and partner matching. During: licences and incentives. After: removing operating obstacles.

Services include investment-plan consulting and assessment, tax and regulatory advice, help finding land, plants or offices, help applying for incentives, coordination with central and local government, and talent-recruitment advice. A dedicated case manager handles each project. After a request arrives, the centre analyses it and replies within 24 hours on working days.

For major obstacles involving other agencies or local governments, the MOEA Minister convenes inter-agency meetings. Problems that remain go to the Executive Yuan's inter-agency investment platform. On land, the MOEA gathers information on sites for sale or rent in government-developed industrial parks, and refers investors to local governments and the Chinese Association of Real Estate Brokers.

Approval and incorporation, in order

For foreign and overseas Chinese investors, the procedure runs broadly as follows. First, confirm that the sector is not on the Negative List of prohibited sectors; restricted sectors need approval or consent from the competent authority. Second, complete the investment application form and submit it, with the investment plan and supporting documents, to the Department of Investment Review at the MOEA. Third, remit funds from abroad only after approval. Fourth, register the company with the authority that handles your paid-in capital level and location. Foreign companies are registered with the authority that handles their paid-in capital level and location, so confirm which authority applies before you file.

Investment can take the form of shares or capital in a Taiwanese company, a branch, a sole proprietorship or partnership, or a loan to an invested business for at least one year. Contributions can be cash; machinery, equipment or raw materials for own use; or intellectual property such as patents, trademarks, copyrights and know-how. The operating vehicle can be a subsidiary, a branch of a foreign company or a representative office. Liability, tax and capital rules differ among the three.

Investments inside science parks or technology industrial parks apply to the park administration instead. This summary follows the official portal. Current forms and conditions are those the MOEA publishes.

Grants and coaching

The association offers two kinds of support. SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) coaching runs from public talks to one-to-one guidance and advisory sessions. It covers proposal and presentation writing and pitch rehearsal, through to approval and execution. It suits small and medium-sized companies preparing an R&D proposal.

The grant support schemes fall into two groups. For R&D, the ceiling is NT$10 million per company and NT$30 million per alliance. For value-added applications, it is NT$5 million per company and NT$25 million per alliance. Confirm the administering agency, eligibility and application period with the agency itself. Official notices govern.

The association's investor channels

In December 2025 the association set up a Venture Capital Committee, under the ideas of sharing, learning and creating together. It describes itself as a strategic-investment matching platform, looking for promising small and medium-sized companies and startups and working through strategic investment. The committee draws on 200 entrepreneur role models from medium and large companies, in seven industry groups, each with one convenor.

The Chairman & CEO Roundtable aims at business cooperation and strategic investment, and screens cases through joint consultation. Each session involves at least five representatives of medium and large companies and at least two small, medium-sized or startup companies. Each industry group holds one at least every quarter. Follow-up can lead to one-to-one business matching and strategic investment. A further mechanism guides strategic investors to co-invest with the National Development Fund. See Investment and Strategic Cooperation.

Joint overseas investment promotion

Each year the association and the Overseas Community Affairs Council select overseas entrepreneurship role models, recognising ethnic Chinese founders who have built strong businesses abroad. Their experience and industry resources flow back to Taiwan's supply chains, small and medium-sized companies and startups. The role models' reach extended across five continents and 27 countries.

The mechanism mainly helps Taiwanese companies and startups expand overseas. It also makes these founders a point of contact between Taiwanese companies and their local markets. For investment procedures, land and parks, tax and fees, and labour rules, ask the official agencies. After you submit a request, TINAI can refer you to the official contact channel or the relevant alliance. Because these founders work in many markets, they can also give a first read on local conditions before a formal market study.