2022 is the first year of space industry development, and with countries around the world taking aggressive actions to go to space, what can Taiwan do to not be left behind in this new space era? Risk Management Society of Taiwan (RMSC), National Space Organization, and MIRDC (Metal Industries Research & Development Centre) held the "Business Opportunities for Space Industry in Taiwan" conference at the GIS MOTC Convention Centre on March 3 to discuss the development of space industry in Taiwan from the perspectives of industry technology and investment environment. Experts have estimated that tens of thousands of low-orbiting satellites will be launched in the next decade which will also drive the need for the manufacturing of satellite bus and the need for ground station. What can be done in this competition to respond to the government policy, integrate long-term funds of the financial industry, and establish space industry technology eco chain and risk management so Taiwan may create another trillion industry?

Shih-Chieh Chang, chairman of Risk Management Society of Taiwan (RMSC) mentioned at the beginning of the conference that the global space economy amounted to approximately US$371.3 billion in 2020, and the Space Development Act that was passed by the Legislative Yuan in 2021 was the first space legislation in Taiwan. Other than the fact that the government has been putting a great deal of effort in the promotion of the Space Development Act, but as space technologies have become more business oriented, space is bound to become the next infrastructure market that the country and industry must get in; furthermore, some Taiwanese manufacturers have already joined the Starlink, all of which indicating that Taiwan has the capability for the research and development of innovative technologies. Yet the establishment of fields and the development of technologies require a massive amount of money; therefore, the support from both the government and the private sector is very much needed so that project finances may be acquired to drive the overall development to attract international investments and make the formation of local industrial chain possible.

Meanwhile, as Jong-Shinn Wu, director general of National Space Organization was sharing his speech titled: "Key Technology and Ecology of Space Industry", he indicated that "satellites will crowd up the sky" in the future, but what are more important are the operation of satellites, the reception and analysis of the returning signals, the business opportunities of infrastructures, chip design and end products, and if Taiwan is able to self- manufacture important components, or establish an international brand. Now is the perfect time for Taiwan to develop space industry. Taiwan has many best space technologies; rockets and satellites of foreign countries used components manufactured by Taiwan, or used Taiwan as ODM, all of which indicating that we possess mature technologies. The National Space Organization volunteers to assume leadership, enhance the developmental ability of self-reliant satellites, and accelerate the testing service of domestically manufactured space components so Taiwan may build its own space technology.

Furthermore, on the discussion of "Analysis of Business Opportunities of Space Industry", Chiu-Feng Lin, president of MIRDC stated that in the old days space was a matter of military defense, but now space has become a matter of business, and everything we observe in space influences our livelihood. Analyzing the current economic situation of the satellite industry, including satellite manufacturing, satellite services, ground station, and satellite launch, the total output value is US$270.6 billion; the first three items are the current focuses of Taiwanese manufacturers, and the fact that satellite launch service may also drive the local tourism makes it developable in the future. In terms of satellite manufacturing, the increase in the need of small and low-cost satellites has shorten the life span of satellites (by an average of five years), so in order to achieve high coverage rate and broad bandwidth, more satellites need to be manufactured in the future, and this will be the point where Taiwan steps in to fully use its advantage in precision manufacturing. Furthermore, after the satellites were launched, software (satellite service) and hardware (ground station) industries will emerge, and the application of the acquired data from these industries is where the money is, worthy of investments from sectors of Taiwan.

Lastly, a few experts were invited to discuss the trend of space industry, and among these experts, Chia-Pin Chung, Legislative Committee Member and Convener of the Taiwan and Asia-Pacific Congress Space Alliance said the "space port" concept and explained how Taiwan has the advantageous geographic location for being close to the equator and is surrounded by seas which is perfect for the development of space industry. Chung suggested that Taiwan may start off with business rockets and develop toward launching rockets/satellites periodically just as ocean freight has periodic voyages, and this will not only bring business opportunities for the surrounding businesses of space port such as transportation, retail sales, financial services, and tourism, but may also allow Taiwan to join other countries of the world and become the next country that enters space. Shyi Chang, chairman of Cathay Securities Investment Trust has also stated that the current space industry is like the prospering electric vehicle industry because the electric vehicle industry also started as a component manufacturer, and then worked its way up to OEM, ODM, and the final overall design. Even though the Taiwanese space industry is currently just an ODM, but as long as the big corporations lead the small corporations in the supply chain, he believes Taiwan will for sure seize this business opportunity and the Taiwanese space industry will bound to become a trillion industry.