Cabinet approves amendments to allow foreign-funded hospitals

In line with the amended provisions, which provided tax incentives, investors in international medical services can establish hospitals in an exclusive biomedical park in northern Taiwan's Hsinchu County in the form of a corporation. They can also issue shares.

“This will help lay a foundation for Taiwan to develop international medical services and medical tourism” said Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang.

The DOH has agreed to allow foreign investors or joint ventures to set up the hospitals based on the BOT (build-operate-transfer) model on a 7.85 hectare plot within the planned 38-hectare biomedical park in Hsinchu.

Shih Chung-liang, director of the Bureau of Medical Affairs under the DOH, said that a briefing session on the issue will be held March 5 and that relevant projections are slated to kick off in June. It is estimated that foreign capital ranging between NT$2 billion and NT$3 billion (US$94 million) will be attracted to Taiwan as a result of the plan, he added.

“Whether Chinese investors will be included in the opening measures will be decided in the near future,” Shih went on.

“The DOH does not restrict international investors from setting up medical facilities in appointed zones, nor does it limit the number of such facilities,” he pointed out, saying that “Kinmen Island would also be an acceptable location.”

According to Shih, such international hospitals will not waste Taiwan's medical resources, as they are profit-making establishments that target only top clienteles who must pay for all of their own expenses.

The law amendments must be approved by the Legislative Yuan before they can be implemented.

Lee Yuan-teh, a professor emeritus at National Taiwan University's College of Medicine, however, expressed concern about turning medical services into a business deal to make money, although he added that Taiwan's medical level is on par with international standards and can compete with Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai.

“It is not good to weigh patients as profit making items,” he said. “A balance must be maintained in saving lives and seeking monetary gain,” he added.

Hung Tzu jen, general manager of the Shin Kong Medical Club, said conditions are not yet ripe for Taiwan to develop international medical services. According to Hung, his club has tried hard to lure foreign visitors into having physical checkups, but foreign customers only account for 2.5 percent of the total — lower than the minimum threshold of 5 percent for a facility to offer international medical services.

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