Taiwan's biotech sector seen as ripe for growth

CNA April 28, 2013, 12:03 am TWNTAIPEI--Taiwan's biotechnology will continue to expand, in terms of both investment and business turnover, as the global market grows, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Investment in Taiwan's biotechnology sector rose 18.66 percent year-on-year in 2012 to NT$39.53 billion (US$1.34 billion), and sales rose 6.1 percent to NT$255 billion, the ministry said. The upward trend will continue, the ministry said, in line with a forecast by Datamonitor that the global biotechnology market will continue to expand at a significant pace. The forecast expected the global biotechnology market's turnover to reach US$288.2 billion in 2013, up 10 percent from the previous year. In 2014, the global market will likely grow another 10.5 percent, according to the projection. The ministry said it would continue to solicit both local and foreign investment in Taiwan's biotechnology sector, and it expected sales to hit NT$350 billion in 2015 and NT$500 billion in 2020, respectively.