Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times: Asian Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact during COVID-19

ASIA BUSINESS COUNCIL HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Fubon Group (Taiwan) Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times FubonGroup (Taiwan) Forming aMobile Phone-based Information System to Prevent CommunityOutbreaks By Winnie Peng, Pauline Yeung, and Chun Hei Hung The following case study is based on written correspondence with Fubon Group in September 2020, and an interview with Jamie Lin, President of Taiwan Mobile, on September 28, 2020. Introduction On October 29, 2020, the international media was abuzz with reports on how Taiwan had managed to mark 200 days without a locally transmitted COVID-19 case, making the island a success story in the fight against the coronavirus. 1 Experts and academics have offered various reasons for Taiwan’s feat. First, Taiwan’s painful experience in dealing with the SARS crisis in 2003 led to the creation of a legal and institutional framework for containing outbreaks of infectious diseases in the future. 2 The SARS outbreak also resulted in a cohort of “veteran professionals” in key positions in the government who held a vigilant attitude toward novel diseases. 3 Second, the early activation of Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on January 20 and the decision to up- grade its authority to the highest level of government agency on February 27 enabled a “single-line of command” in “coor- dinating andmobilizing all sectors” to control the pandemic. 4 Third, Taiwan was able to garner private sector support, both to ramp up mask production within a short period of time, and to create the Intelligent Electronic Fences System (IEFS), a real-time mobile phone-based information system that monitors Taiwan’s entire quarantined population and individuals with whom they may come into contact. 5 While the former involved raw material providers and manufacturers of face masks, the latter involved the five major telecom carriers in Taiwan. Jamie Lin, President of Taiwan Mobile, the telecom arm of Fubon Group, recalls the very meeting where the government met with relevant industry leaders to brainstorm ideas on Asia Business Council Fubon Group Region Taiwan Year of Founding 1961 Headquarters Taipei Type of Company Listed companies under Fubon Group include Fubon Financial Holdings, Taiwan Mobile, and momo.com Inc. Number of Employees (2019) 68,000 Total Revenue in 2019 NTD 624.2 billion (US$20.6 billion) Total Net Profit in 2019 NTD 72.4 billion (US$2.39 billion) Major Businesses Financial Services, Telecommunica - tions, Media Services, among others COVID-19 Initiatives in a Nutshell Mobile Phone-based Information System To Prevent Community Outbreaks; Insurance Plans for Notifiable Diseases; Free Digital Entertainment for People under Quarantine; Free Internet Services for Students Attending School Remotely Note: Total Revenue and Total Net Profit are summation of the three listed companies under Fubon Group.