Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/02
By: Liao Yu-yang and Chung Yu-chen

Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) Taiwanese companies that make laptop computers and telecommunications

devices in China are likely to be hit hard by U.S. President Donald Trump's newly proposed tariffs on goods imported from China, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has said.

The MOEA made the assessment Friday in a statement in response to an announcement by Trump saying he will impose a 10 percent tariff on another US$300 billion in goods imported from China. Trump issued the threat after negotiators from the world's two largest economies failed to make progress in the latest round of trade talks.

According to the target list of products released at public hearings previously held in the U.S., the new duties will hit consumer goods ranging from laptop computers and telecommunications devices to toys and footwear, the MOEA said.

China-based Taiwanese mobile phone or laptop manufacturers will be directly affected, the MOEA said, and it expected Taiwanese machinery makers operating in China to be hit the hardest by diminished orders.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/01
By: Taiwan Today, Agencies

An exhibition on smart grid technology kicked off July 30 in outlying Kinmen County, underscoring the government’s commitment to transforming Taiwan into a low-carbon nation.

According to organizer state-run Taiwan Power Co., the permanent display at the company’s Kinmen office is intended to deepen public understanding of smart grid plans for the county. It features animated videos, augmented reality games and models on such topics as electricity distribution, home energy management and power storage.

At the opening ceremony, Taipower Chairman Yang Wei-fuu said that smart grids are being adopted worldwide to bolster electricity supply stability while making it easier to restore power after outages. Kinmen is the first place the company will implement the concept in Taiwan due to the county’s suitability for solar and wind power generation, he added.

As part of the change, smart meters are expected to be installed in 33,000 households in Kinmen by the end of 2020, helping to reduce residents’ energy bills, Yang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Convenient store giant cooperating with different brands to offer variety of foods

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/31
By: Lyla Liu, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Convenient store giant Family Mart inaugurated five new stores in Taiwan Railways Administration train stations today (Jul. 31).

Family Mart announced the official opening of five new stores, two of which are located in Taipei Main Station, with Badu, Wanhua, and Luodong Railway Stations housing a store each, reported the China Times. The company said it plans to open 32 more stores in 23 train stations by September.

According to the company, its goal is to operate 37 separate Family Marts in train stations throughout Taiwan. These are expected to provide services to 20 million travelers per year, wrote the China Times.

Additionally, Family Mart will collaborate with a variety of businesses to offer snacks based on the taste of local customers. For example, bakery shop Master Fang (方師傅) will sell desserts in Kaohsiung Railway Station.    [FULL  STORY]

Fcus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/31
By: Chang Chien-chung and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) MediaTek Inc., the largest integrated circuit designer in Taiwan, reported Wednesday a more-than 90 percent sequential increase in net profit for the second quarter of this year in the wake of a recovery in sales of consumer electronic devices.

In an investor conference, MediaTek said it posted NT$6.503 billion (US$210 million) in net profit in the second quarter, up 90.4 percent from the first quarter, although the second-quarter figure was down 12.6 percent from a year earlier.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the second quarter stood at NT$4.11, compared with NT$2.17 in the first quarter and NT$4.72 over the same period of last year, the IC designer said.

During the April-June period, MediaTek generated NT$61.57 billion in consolidated sales, up 16.8 percent from a quarter earlier and also up 1.8 percent from a year earlier.    [FULL  STORY]

‘CAPITAL REPATRIATION’: Exports of information and communications products rose 20.15 percent as Taiwanese companies returned home amid the US-China trade dispute

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 01, 2019
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s economy last quarter expanded 2.41 percent annually, beating the government’s May

estimate of 1.78 percent on the back of better-than-expected private investment and exports, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

“Exports and private investment fared stronger than our expectations, thanks to order transfers and capital repatriation,” DGBAS Senior Executive Officer Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑) told a media briefing in Taipei.

External demand contributed 0.72 percentage points to GDP growth during the April-to-June period, versus a drag three months earlier, as the decline in exports tapered to 2.58 percent. The agency had forecast a 3.43 percent decline.

Demand for semiconductors and electronics, the mainstay of Taiwanese exports, started to pick up, although most other categories continued to disappoint, Huang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/29
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Ko Lin

Taipei, July 29 (CNA) Consumer confidence in Taiwan improved in July at a time when domestic investment and consumption showed signs of increasing, according to the results of the latest National Central University (NCU) survey released Monday.

The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) rose 1.68 points in July from a month earlier to 81.48, found the survey, conducted by NCU's Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development.

The CCI consists of six factors that reflect public confidence in employment, family finances, consumer prices, the local economic climate, the stock market and the likelihood of purchasing durable goods over the next six months.

In particular, the economic climate index trended 0.45 points higher to 86.9 in July, the highest since May 2015, the survey showed.    [FULL  STORY]