President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of September 1 with a delegation led by Bernd Reckmann, a member of Merck KGaA's Executive Board. The president lauded Merck, and expressed his gratitude for their longstanding assistance in the development of Taiwan's panel industry, as well as its cooperation with Taiwan on a variety of health care projects.
In remarks, the president stated that Merck was founded in Germany in 1668 and that its research and development of liquid crystal technology dates back over 100 years. The company is the world's largest supplier of the key material used in flat panel displays. For many years, Merck has provided high quality liquid crystal raw materials tailored to the needs of Taiwan's panel industry, giving it an important position in the development of Taiwan's flat panel display industry, the president said.
President Ma added that Merck first came to Taiwan in 1960, and in 1989 the company formally established Merck Ltd. Taiwan. In 1993 it established Merck Display Technologies Ltd., marking the beginning of its development of a specialty chemical materials business here. In 2005, it established the Liquid Crystal Center Taiwan in Taoyuan, helping to create a comprehensive cluster for the image display industry. In 2013, the company recognized the strengths of central Taiwan's display and high-tech industries, and thus decided to up its ante in Taiwan by investing in the establishment of the first New Business R&D and Application Lab in Asia, providing R&D technology in key materials for displays and advanced illumination, and a lab to share these achievements. Merck, the president said, is an important R&D partner for Taiwan's major flat panel manufacturers.
President Ma also specially expressed his gratitude to Merck Display Technology Ltd. for not only introducing the latest materials and technology from overseas, but also cooperating with its clients here, and together overcoming technological bottlenecks. Merck also provides the Asian market with timely services to develop key materials, and it has played a key role in making Taiwan one of the top players in display research and development in the world and one of the biggest display manufacturing centers.
The president stated that in addition to being the world's largest supplier of liquid crystals, Merck also has a distinguished history in the pharmaceuticals industry and is a leader in cancer-targeted therapies. It also holds the largest share in the world pharmaceutical market for infertility treatments, thyroid treatments, and multiple sclerosis treatment. Merck's market share in Taiwan for multiple sclerosis treatment medication and infertility therapy products is over 50%, the president noted.
The president also applauded Merck for having invested over NT$500 million in Taiwan, and working with government agencies, health care associations and patient alliances on a variety of health care projects. The company, for instance, sponsors treatment for underprivileged patients and holds a variety of medical conferences. Its work in promoting awareness of various diseases and preventative measures is quite well-known, the president said.
President Ma also mentioned that he established the Taipei Biotech Industry Promotion Task Force when he was Taipei City mayor and that the Taipei City Biotech Industry Award was founded at that time to encourage R&D, manufacturing and the transfer of technology among industry participants. The president said that when he was mayor, he even personally led a group of representatives from the biotech industry to the United States and Europe to recruit investment. After he took office as president, the government in 2009 designated the biotechnology industry as a focus industry in the Six Major Emerging Industries initiative, and the promotion of the Taiwan Diamond Action Plan for Biotech Takeoff and the Taiwan Biotech Industry Takeoff Action Plan has been quite successful, he stated.
The president pointed out that the market value of biotech companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the over-the-counter market accounted for just 0.85% of total market value in 2010. Last year, however, the sector accounted for 2.16% of overall market value, meaning that it has more than doubled in just four short years. At the same time, efforts by the government and industry enabled revenues of Taiwan's biotech industry last year to stand at NT$288.6 billion, equivalent to growth of 51% from the NT$191.2 billion in 2007, the year before he took office. Taiwan was home to 1,631 biotech industry vendors last year, versus 1,116 in 2007, an increase of 46%. Furthermore, private investment in the biotech industry last year reached NT$45.8 billion, which points to the industry’s thriving development in Taiwan, the president said.
Lastly, President Ma emphasized the enormous potential of Taiwan's biotech industry, and hopes that Merck will take advantage of the strengths of Taiwan's industrial environment, and will continue to invest in Taiwan, paving the way for a win-win situation for both sides.