Global economic downturn and trade tensions are expected to hit the four economies, as Taiwan benefits from US-China trade war

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/16
By: Zin Kao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Goldman Sachs has lowered its GDP growth forecast for the “Four Asian Tigers,” namely Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg.

The latest estimate for Taiwan’s GDP growth rate in 2019 has dropped from 2.4 percent to 2.3 percent. This is ahead of South Korea’s 1.9 percent, Singapore’s 0.4 percent, and Hong Kong’s 0.2 percent.

Andrew Tilton at Goldman Sachs explained that a deep connection with the global economy has helped the four economies benefit from globalization and regional economic development over the past few decades. However, it is also a double-edged sword, making them more vulnerable to the recent global economic downturn and trade frictions.

The report said the estimated Taiwan GDP growth rate dropped by just 1 percent. This was because the negative impact caused by the U.S.-China trade war is expected to be largely compensated for by an increase in Taiwan exports to the U.S.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/16
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Frances Huang

Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) Taiwan has raised its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2019, reflecting increased investment in Taiwan by local suppliers looking to steer clear of the trade dispute between the United States and China.

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said in a statement Friday that it has revised its estimate for GDP growth in 2019 to 2.46 percent, up 0.27 percentage points from its previous forecast in May.

A big factor in the revision was increased investment at home by Taiwan-based companies operating in China that wanted to increase their production capacity in Taiwan to avoid punitive tariffs imposed by the United States on goods made in China, the DGBAS said.

The trade dispute has also prompted a shakeup in the global electronics supply chain, leading to more production capacity in Taiwan, the DGBAS said.    [FULL  STORY]

Yahoo Finance
Date: August 15, 2019

JustPrintIt™ Imaging Technology Opens Door for Lower Cost Displays in IoT Applications

 

E Ink Holdings, "E Ink" (8069.TW), the leading innovator of electronic ink technology, announced today that it will be showing a new technology, E Ink JustPrintIt™, at the Touch Taiwan Exhibition, taking place August 28-30 at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei, Taiwan.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190815005104/en/

JustPrintIt is a rewritable, digital, electronics-free display medium geared towards smart office, transportation, retail, healthcare and IoT applications like ID badges, gift cards, loyalty cards, packaging, healthcare or public transportation cards. The technology can be implemented onto small and large format rewritable ePaper displays.    [FULL  STORY]

Twelve research centers set up in nine Southeast Asian countries

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/15
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) held an event on Wednesday (Aug. 14) to present its achievements in promoting collaboration with Southeast Asian countries on scientific research and technological innovation.

MOST has established 12 scientific research centers in nine countries since 2017, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. The effort to set up the facilities, which focus on exchanges in the areas of water purification, smart healthcare, environmental protection, climate change, and human science, is part of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy for greater engagement with Southeast Asia, said MOST.

Cooperation of this kind allows Taiwan to demonstrate its technological prowess, said MOST Minister Chen Liang-gee (陳良基). Researchers from Taiwan are encouraged to conduct field research in New Southbound countries on a long-term basis to gain a better understanding of local problems for which they can help develop solutions.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/15
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) The U.S. dollar rose against the Taiwan dollar Thursday, gaining NT$0.003 to close at NT$31.405.

Turnover totaled US$854 million during the trading session.

The greenback opened at the day's low of NT$31.410, and moved between NT$31.358 and NT$31.459 before the close.    [SOURCE]

KTIC Radio
Date: August 13, 2019
By: Kansas Department of Agriculture

MANHATTAN, Kan. —   The 2019 Taiwan Agricultural Youth Exchange Program is currently accepting applications from high school seniors or college freshmen who are passionate about agriculture and are interested in representing Kansas in a week-long exchange program October 26 through November 3, 2019.

Each year the National Taichung Agricultural Senior High School in central Taiwan hosts students from the U.S. Midwest for this program. Selected students will tour agricultural facilities and businesses in Taiwan and learn about Taiwanese agriculture.

Kansas students joined other U.S. students for this visit to the Taiwan mountains in November 2018 as part of the Taiwan Agricultural Youth Exchange Program.

“The entire experience was amazing,” said Sage Collins, 2018 program participant. “Immersing myself in a new culture, experiencing all the aspects of Taiwan and learning about their agricultural practices was an eye-opening experience for me.”

Exports play an important role in Kansas agriculture. According to Euromonitor, Kansas exported over $129 million in agriculture products to Taiwan in 2018, including beef, oil seeds, cereal grains and wheat flour. Globally, exports of agriculture products contributed over $3.6 billion to the Kansas economy in 2018.    [FULL  STORY]

The laptop manufacturer has been weighing the impact of US tariffs amid the US-China trade dispute

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/13
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Notebook manufacturer Quanta Computer is planning to move part of its production from China to Southeast Asia to avoid U.S. tariffs targeting goods exported from China.

Moving production that is bound to be exported to the U.S. from China to Southeast Asian nations is necessary, said Quanta’s founder and chairman Barry Lam (林百里), at a press conference on Tuesday (August 13). The plan will include the company’s laptops, which are facing an additional 10 percent tariff from September.

Some of the production, such as the computer servers, has been moved back to Taiwan for about half a year, according to Lam. Yet Taiwan is lacking the workforce for labor-intensive jobs, he added.

Assessment to set up a factory in Southeast Asia has been completed, but the company needs to discuss the issue with its clients, before reaching a final decision soon, Lam said.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/13
By: Pan Chih-yi and Frances Huang

Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) Sercomm Corp., a Taiwan-based wireless network and broadband equipment supplier, will increase the ratio of its global production in its factory in the Philippines and lower the ratio in China amid escalating trade friction between the United States and China, Investor.com.tw reported Tuesday.

In an investor conference, according to the report, Sercomm President James Wang (王煒) said his company has set up a third production site in the Philippines after one in Taiwan and another in China, and is planning to raise the weighting of the Southeast Asian country in its global production to 30 percent from the current 20 percent.

The Philippines factory went into operation in the second quarter of this year, the report said.

China will account for 50 percent of Sercomm's total production, down from the current 60 percent, while Taiwan's weighting is expected to remain unchanged at 20 percent, Wang said in the report.
[FULL  STORY]