An ECCT delegation of committee chairpersons led by Chairman Giuseppe Izzo and CEO Freddie Hoeglund met with ROC Premier Jiang Yi-huah and senior cabinet officials on 12 September. During the meeting, delegates discussed priority business issues facing ECCT member companies. The meeting yielded progress on several important issues facing ECCT member companies. The progress was thanks to the ECCT's excellent relations with the government and numerous meetings held over recent months, culminating with the meeting with Premier Jiang.

Progress was made on the following issues:

Pharmaceutical
The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) assured the ECCT that Article 46 of the Second Generation National Health Insurance Act, which specifies the method of price adjustments for just off patent drugs, would not be applied to drugs with patents that expired before January 2013.
In addition, the MoHW acknowledged that the speed of approval for new drugs has slowed down considerably since the establishment of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Reimbursement Scheme (PBRS). The MoHW has therefore suggested that the National Health Insurance Administration increase the frequency of the PBRS committee's meetings from once every two months to once a month.

Telecommunications, Media & Content
To speed up the building of 4G networks, the National Communications Commission agreed to allow type approval of 4G product reviews to be conducted in parallel with the implementation of the regulatory framework. As soon as “Mobile Broadband Radio Base Station Technical Regulations” are announced, equipment suppliers will be allowed to begin sending in products for type approval while inspections by national security authorities will be done in parallel to minimize delays.
The premier also undertook to coordinate meetings with public institutions regarding locations for base stations to help the industry secure sites.

Financial Services
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) will welcome foreign financial institutions to operate in Taiwan's Free Economic Pilot Zones (FEPZs). In this regard, authorities are reviewing draft measures governing how financial institutions can operate in the FEPZs.
The FSC is actively considering allowing Taiwanese companies that have invested in mainland China and mainland Chinese companies, which are listed in Hong Kong, Singapore or New York, to issue Formosa bonds in Taiwan's capital market. The drafting of new rules on the Issuance of Formosa Bonds will be done in coordination with the Mainland Affairs Council but will also require further consensus with mainland China's Banking Supervisory Commission.

Medical Devices
The Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare promised to find a compromise solution no later than October to establish a reasonable self-payment option for medical devices.