Entrepreneurial spirit drives Taiwan

By Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Computer salesman Ke Teh-an quit his job with a major Taiwan computer manufacturer to open an American-style diner that he hopes will make him rich.

Such stories are not unusual in Taiwan, which has one of the largest pools of entrepreneurs in the region.

Becoming an entrepreneur is a way of life in Taiwan where go-it-alone businessmen are driven by a desire to become their own boss as well as to make their fortune.

"It's tough, that's for sure, but it's a dream," Ke said as he worked in his Taipei diner which employs four people and serves an average of 250 customers per day.

"It's a mess out there. Everyone wants to be his own boss," remarked Ke, who has added a second diner to his burgeoning chain and is already saving up for his third outlet.

Running a business is so popular in Taiwan that more people are employed in small businesses than in Thailand, which has almost three times the population.

"It's a cultural thing," said Cheng Cheng-mount, an economist with Citigroup in Taipei. "Among ethnic Chinese, you don't want to be the employee. You want to be the employer."

The entrepreneurial streak in Taiwan dates back to as early as the 1940s, when many of the Chinese businessmen and refugees fleeing the Communists on the China mainland opened shops on the island as there was no major industrial base to provide jobs.