Taiwan looks to innovative start-ups as it revamps its tech image

As the Computex trade show opened in Taiwan yesterday, it put a new focus on start-ups to boost the island's tech credentials in the face of intense competition from the mainland.

Taiwan has hosted Asia's biggest tech trade show for 35 years and made its name as an innovation and engineering hub. More recently, it benefited from Apple's new iPhone 6, with leading local firms such as Foxconn and TSMC among the suppliers.

Taiwan is also one of the world's biggest semi-conductor suppliers and is home to industry players from computermaker Asus to smartphone brand HTC.

But as the mainland pushes to grow its own tech industry with the development of domestic smartphone brands and homegrown hardware, including chips, Taiwan is looking to smaller niche firms with new ideas.

Nine start-ups that Computex organisers say have potential to tap global markets have been given a special exhibition area this year to raise their profiles.

"We have to turn to a new direction, with more innovation, rather than mass manufacturing," said Li Chang, deputy secretary general of Taipei Computer Association, co-organiser of Computex. He called on the government to do more to support fledgling firms.