Taiwan

The Republic of China (known as Taiwan) is an island located in Southeast Asia bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea just east of China and north of the Philippines. It is about the size of Maryland and Delaware combined and covers an area of 35,980 sq. kilometers.  Taiwan’s total population is 23.3 million and is growing at a rate of 0.27%.  Taiwan’s government is a Multi-party democracy and claims itself as an independent state from China with its own constitution, president, and military.  The People’s Republic of China claims the Taiwanese government is illegitimate and does not recognize it as an independent state. The official language used is Chinese and the local currency used is the Taiwan Dollar.

Taiwan has a capitalist economy heavily dependent on foreign trade.  The economy has been increasingly privatized with decreasing government guidance on foreign investment and trade. Its main trade partners are China, the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. Its primary imports are electronics, machinery, petroleum, precision instruments, organic chemicals, and metals. Exports consist of electronics, flat panels, machinery, metals, textiles, plastics, chemicals, and auto parts. Taiwan’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) is $918.3 billion and is growing at a real rate of 1.3% with an inflation rate of 1.9%. Taiwan ranked 16 out of 185 countries in the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking. 

Franchising Laws Overview  

Disclosure laws:

• Franchisor must disclose certain information to the prospective franchisee ten days prior to the signing of the franchise agreement.
• Franchisor must provide prospective franchisee with an Operations Manual and franchise agreement, and no agreement can be signed until after five days have passed.

Relationship laws: 

• None.

Registration laws: 

• Franchise agreement must be registered with the investment office.
• License Agreement for a trademark or service mark must be registered with the Republic of China Trademark Office.

Click the links below for articles with more information on Franchising in Taiwan

Doing Business in Taiwan (2012)

Franchising Rides Waves of Economic Expansion in Asia and Pacific Rim (2007)

* CPI Score is published by Transparency International and relates to the perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 100 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).  

**Ease of Doing Business Ranking is determined by the World Bank Group and is ranked out of a possible 185 countries. www.doingbusiness.org  

Most recent statistics have been taken from the CIA World Factbook unless noted otherwise. 

International Franchising Opportunities

After you have finished researching the international markets, learning international expansion strategies and best practices, and understanding the basics of international franchising law, IFA provides numerous opportunities for franchising internationally.