Cathay Financial survey reveals increase in optimism about current economic conditions

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/28
By:  Central News Agency

TAIPEI (CNA) — Local confidence in Taiwan's economy rebounded in July in the wake of a truce in the trade war between the United States and China reached at the G20 summit by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at the end of June, according to Cathay Financial Holding Co.

Citing a survey conducted from July 1-7, Cathay Financial, one of the largest financial holding firms in Taiwan, said 35.4 percent of respondents thought the local economy was doing worse than six months earlier, while 23.6 percent thought it had improved.

The poll data translates into an increase in optimism about current economic conditions, as reflected in the optimism index, which rose from minus 20.1 in June to minus 11.9 in July, Cathay Financial said.

In addition, according to the financial holding firm's poll, an economic optimism index for the next six months also rose from minus 16.6 in May to minus 7.0 in June.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/27
By: Jeffrey Wu and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 27 (CNA) An Asia-based brokerage has maintained a "buy" recommendation on shares in Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world's largest contract electronics maker, saying the company's fundamentals remain sound.

In a research note earlier this week, the Asian securities house said concerns over the succession at Hon Hai have already been factored into its share price after Terry Gou (郭台銘) announced in mid-April that he would take part in the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) presidential primary and step down from the chairmanship.

After Gou stepped back from the day-to-day operations of Hon Hai, the board of directors chose Liu Young-way (劉揚偉), who was in charge of the group's semiconductor business, to succeed him in June.

In July, Gou lost to Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) in the primary for the 2020 presidential race.

Local political commentators are watching to see what Gou does next, amid speculation that he could run as an independent.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 26 July, 2019
By: Paula Chao

The 2019 Taiwan Culinary Exhibition is under way.

The exhibit kicked off on Friday and features Taiwanese cuisine, culinary skills, exotic foods, and delicacies.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice President Chen Chien-jen offered international visitors three promises about Taiwanese food.

"First, Taiwanese food is delicious. Second, Taiwanese cuisine has won international recognition. This year’s Michelin Guide Taipei not only includes starred restaurants but also recommends 58 affordable eateries. We have world-class standards whether it’s restaurant food or street food. Third, this year Taiwan has been ranked as one of the most Muslim-friendly tourist destinations among non-Muslim countries," said Chen.     [FULL  STORY]

Vietnam is losing its luster as a production base

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/26
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwanese textile companies in Vietnam are looking for new “blue oceans” as competition becomes stiffer amid the protracted U.S.-China trade dispute that has prompted manufacturers to flee from China to Southeast Asian markets.

The textile industry is among those most affected by the trade conflict, as China plays a major role in the sector's supply chain, reported Central News Agency. Toung Loong Textile (東隆興業), a Taiwan-based fabric company, said its business in China has been disrupted due to uncertain trade prospects over the past six months.

Taiwan has been a leading supplier of functional sportswear for a number of brands, including Nike and Adidas. Vietnam, thanks to its preferential tariff treatment for textile goods, used to be a prime choice of production base for the island’s industry players.

The situation has changed, though, as a growing number of companies are scrambling to shift production lines to the nation to avoid fallout from the trade war. This has made the market ever more saturated, said the report.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/26
By: Liao Yu-yang and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Another five companies have made pledges to invest in Taiwan under a

government program to draw overseas manufacturers back to Taiwan to boost the total to almost NT$500 billion (US$16.08 billion) this year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Friday.

One of the five, Taiwanese flat panel maker AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), has committed to invest more than NT$40 billion in Taiwan, and the five companies combined pledged to invest about NT$45 billion in the country, the MOEA said.

The five companies have brought the number of enterprises committing this year to investing in Taiwan to 98 under an MOEA program to encourage overseas Taiwanese companies to return home or invest more in their existing operations in Taiwan, the MOEA said.

Total investment pledged by the 98 enterprises is now at NT$497.3 billion, according to the MOEA, nearing a NT$500 billion goal for 2019 set by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the MOEA said.
[FULL  STORY]

Israeli unicorn OrCam has launched the MyEye in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/25
By: Zin Kao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Israeli unicorn OrCam Technologies has launched the MyEye, a wearable assistive device designed for visually impaired people, which would meet the demand of the nearly 60,000 blind or visually challenged people in Taiwan.

The OrCam MyEye is a lightweight wireless device that can be magnetically mounted to an eyeglass frame. It recognizes text, banknotes, human faces, colors, patterns, etc., and describes them to users through the built-in speaker or Bluetooth devices, helping visually challenged users to complete daily tasks more easily and independently.

This revolutionary smart device can be operated by either voice commands or gestures. Users can simply point to an object and let the device do the rest of the work, with the whole process taking less than three seconds.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/25
By: Flor Wang and Pan Tzu-yu

Taipei, July 25 (CNA) The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) maintained its forecast for Taiwan's 2019 economic growth rate at 2.12 percent Thursday, citing an optimistic outlook for the domestic economy, despite uncertainties arising from trade conflicts among some of the world's major economies.

While some other agencies have lowered their 2019 projections for Taiwan's economic growth, TIER "did not see any reason to do likewise," its president Chang Chien-yi (張建一) said.

"Unless there is a drastic change in the global situation, Taiwan's economy will expand faster in the second half of the year than in the first half, paving the way for an annual economic growth of more that 2 percent for the whole year," Chang said.

Earlier in the month, Academia Sinica trimmed its projection to 2.01 percent, while the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research cut its forecast to 2.06 percent.    [FULL  STORY]