Investment requirements and the participation of Korean and Taiwanese firms in technology - intensive industries

Not according to this discussion paper, which surveys the relative performance of Korean and Taiwanese firms in producing five products crucial to the information industry: personal computers (PC"s), keyboards, hard disk drives, and media and precision motors for the latter. In every case, high investment costs (in production facilities, materials, etc.) did not seem to inhibit the entry of Taiwanese firms into the market, especially in the manufacture of PC"s and keyboards, where there was a wide variety in the size of firms entering the market. However, while access to financing for start-up costs that can reach into the $10-20 million range does not seem to be a problem for Taiwanese businesses, their much larger Korean competitors may have an advantage in producing other high-tech products that require even larger start-up investments. Nevertheless, there remains a wide range of activities within the information industry for which the structure of the Taiwanese industry, with its preponderance of small, dynamic firms, seems ideally adapted. (Author abstract, modified)