HKEX visited Taiwan to share the benefits of a Hong Kong listing to high-growth Taiwan firms in the medical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields last week. HKEX teamed up with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and the Asia Pacific Taiwan Federation of Industry & Commerce (APTFIC) to organise a visit to Taiwan from 6 to 8 December. 

There have been rapid developments in medical technology and biotech in Taiwan over the past decade, creating an imminent need for more support from the capital markets to fund their growing research and development projects. The Hong Kong delegation visit aimed to enhance collaboration among the Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland business communities and deepen their understanding of the latest development in the Hong Kong securities market and the financing options on different platforms. HKEX arranged visits with a number of key biotech institutions and government agencies, and organised a healthcare seminar.

More than 40 Taiwan and Mainland China business representatives from the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors along with Hong Kong financial intermediaries joined the delegation. They shared their experiences with the Taiwan business communities in various networking occasions, which deeply strengthened their understanding of the development of Taiwan’s biotechnology ecosystem.  

The delegation participated in the Inaugural BioMed Innovation and Investment Conference (under the Taiwan Healthcare Expo) on 7 December organised by HKEX, HKSTP, APTFIC, the Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry (IBMI), Research Center for Biotechnology and Medicine Policy (RBMP), China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association (PhIRDA), Hong Kong Bio-Med Innotech Association Limited and International Association of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine (Macau). The forum aimed to help Taiwan medical technology companies fully utilise capital platforms in Hong Kong and understand taxation and legal issues that Taiwan enterprises would encounter during the fundraising processes. These discussions help pave the way for the future sustainable development of Taiwan firms. 

Franky Chung, Senior Vice President, Issuer Services of HKEX delivers a keynote speech on new developments in the Hong Kong capital market.  

Simon Sze, Cluster Manager (Biotech), Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation delivers a keynote speech on the current status and developments in the biotech ecosystem in Hong Kong. 

One of the visits was to Hsinchu Science Park to gain insights and learn cutting-edge technologies related to the latest developments in the Taiwan biotechnology and technology industries. 

Members of the delegation at the entrance to Hsinchu Science Park.

The delegation also paid courtesy visits to government departments, including exchanging views with the Director General of the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Jang-Hwa Leu on Taiwan’s preferential policies for the biotech sector and future development plans. 

The delegation shares its views with senior government officials from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. 

The delegation also had a meeting with Taiwan’s top research institution, the Biotechnology Incubation Center of Genomics Research Center at Academia Sinica, to gain a holistic overview of academic science research developments in Taiwan. 

Company representatives in the delegation discuss new biotechnology ventures with Professor Chi-Ming Liang of Academic Sinica, a distinguished research fellow at the Genomics Research Center.

The visit helped to strengthen cooperation in the healthcare and biotechnology industries among Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan. HKEX will continue to organise different promotional initiatives targeting different industries to introduce the latest developments in the Hong Kong securities market, especially our proposed new listing rules for high-gr 54 27208 54 14740 0 0 5143 0 0:00:05 0:00:02 0:00:03 5143owth companies. Please follow HKEX’s WeChat account for more details.