Borrowing money as a foreigner

[Taiwan Luthiers]

First of all, what kind of business does you wife want to start?

Has she done the math, ran the numbers and it looks good, making sure to account for possible risks and deciding if there's a market or demand for the products that she intend to offer? If not can she create a demand?

How much does she need to start off, is it possible for her to start small with what she have or maybe save up a little bit, or even selling assets (such as stocks or bonds) and then start small and see how it goes?

Last thing you want is to go into debt and your business failing on you. It's like playing poker at Las Vegas!

DO NOT ever borrow from a loan shark, the interests makes credit card look cheap and you will be harassed, or possibly injured or murdered by gangsters if you don't pay.

In general banks in Taiwan doesn't just give a loan just because you want it. You actually need to prove that you are willing and able to pay it back. Even getting a credit card is a little more difficult than in the West.

[asiababy]

The Taiwan Small and Medium Business Bank has quite a good English site. Here is a page listing their loans available to help start-ups. I have never used this bank or tried to get a loan, I was just reading up some information from my accountants, who use this bank. It just seems to have potential as a more loan-friendly bank.

http://www.tbb.com.tw/wps/wcm/connect/TBBInternetEN/TBBInternetEN-Index/TBBInternetEN-Financial/TBBInternetEN-C03/TBBInternetEN-C0302/

[Enigma]

I recall a class where I "gave" the students 1 million NT to start a business. The goal was to have an entrepreneur style conversation. After several different classes of this query I discovered:
1. A breakfast shop
2. A shoe store
3. A clothing night market stand

As you can see, new business people really have no clue about making a profit. Borrowing money to start a business is ALWAYS a bad idea. Would you loan me money to start a business? Doubtful. If it were me, I would want some collateral, wouldn't you? Do it without collateral or even with, the lender is going to loose his ass.
My suggestion is to start the business on your own money. Start small and prove to yourself and others that this is a good idea. After your a proven comodity, banks will be asking you to borrow money from them.