Business and Finance

Taiwan sees returnee investment exceed NT$400 billion

It is part of Taiwan’s incentive to lure businesses back home

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/30
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan has attracted over NT$400 billion in planned investment from Taiwanese firms operating overseas during the first half of 2019, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOFA).

The government of Taiwan has approved 81 investment projects from the firms during the period from Jan. 1 to June 30, which are expected to generate 36,800 job opportunities.

There are more than 50 investment proposals pending approval, testimony to the success of the incentive program to woo Taiwanese businesses to return home and avert the impact of the U.S.-China trade conflict, MOFA claimed.

According to the ministry, the trend has helped facilitate the relocation of production facilities in six major industries back to Taiwan, including computer servers, telecommunications networks, bicycles, automobile components, automotive electronics, and aerospace.
[FULL  STORY]

Flight attendants strike has cost US$67.7 million: EVA Airways

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/30
By: Jiang Ming-yan and Emerson Lim

Taipei, June 30 (CNA) The flight attendants strike has cost EVA Airways NT$2.1 billion (US$67.7 million) over the past 11 days, with 469 domestic and international flights canceled, the company said on Sunday.

The strike began at 4 p.m. on June 20 when flight attendants demands were not met during talks between the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union (TFAU) and EVA Air.

The company has lost NT$2.1 billion due to 469 canceled flights (per round trip) from June 20-30, EVA Air said in a company bulletin on Sunday, adding that other strike related costs are still being evaluated.

EVA Air said it will notify passengers of updated flight schedules as soon as possible, urging them to check the latest updates on EVA Air's official website or APP.    [FULL  STORY]

Petrochemicals tipped to remain slow

UPCYCLE ENDED: A KGI analyst said downstream demand from plastic-processing manufacturers has turned conservative amid trade issues between the US and China

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 01, 2019
By: Chen Cheng-hui  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s petrochemical industry is expected to continue facing the problem of slowing demand growth and accelerating supply growth next year, leading to more downside risks for earnings outlooks, analysts said.

Based on research conducted by analysts at Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) and KGI Securities Investment Advisory Co (凱基投顧), the spreads of most petrochemical products — or the price gaps between raw materials and petrochemical products extracted from them — were below market expectations in the first half of the year, indicating worse-than-expected supply-and-demand dynamics around the world, and posing a potential risk to product prices and earnings.

“We expect more downside risks for the market’s earnings forecasts [for companies] during the period from the second half of 2019 to 2020, mainly due to a likely lower oil price range, a boost to supply from upcoming capacity expansion and weak demand,” Yuanta analyst Leo Lee (李侃奇) said in a report on Thursday last week.

The price of crude oil has become bearish since May because of rising supply from US output and weaker downstream demand amid the US-China trade dispute and recent US-India trade tensions, Lee said.    [FULL  STORY]

Four firms boost total Taiwan investment pledges to over NT$400 billion

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/29
By:  Central News Agency

A major exercise bike maker is returning home to invest in Taiwan. (By Central News Agency)

Taipei (CNA) – Another four Taiwanese companies have pledged to boost investments in Taiwan, raising the total pledges to more than NT$400 billion (US$12.90 billion) so far this year under the government's incentive program to encourage Taiwan-invested companies to return home, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

The four companies were fitness equipment supplier Tonic Fitness Technology Inc., machinery maker Rexon Technology Corp., an electronics components firm and an automation equipment producer, which asked not to be named.

They have pledged to invest a total of NT$25.3 billion in Taiwan.

The planned investments by the four companies have raised the total amounts pledged under the MOEA program to NT$411.7 billion by 81 companies so far this year.    [FULL  STORY]

MediaTek ranked 4th largest IC designer worldwide, Novatek No. 8

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/29
By: Chang Chien-chung and Frances Huang

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) MediaTek Inc., a smartphone chip designer from Taiwan, was the fourth largest integrated circuit designer worldwide in the first quarter of this year, as the company saw its revenue rise slightly from a year earlier, according to the Taipei-based Topology Research Institute.


In addition, Taiwan-based driver IC designer Novatek Microelectronics Corp. and communication network IC designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp. also made the top 10 list, at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, Topology said.

According to a research paper released by Topology, part of the market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp., MediaTek posted US$1.71 billion in sales for the January-March period, up 1.0 percent from a year earlier, making it the fourth largest IC designer in the world.

MediaTek was the only top 5 IC designer to report a year-on-year increase in revenue in the first quarter, at a time when the global semiconductor industry has been impacted by escalating trade friction between Washington and Beijing, which slowed down demand from China, Topology said.
[FULL  STORY]

Striking EVA Air flight attendant jumps ship to join Taiwanese rival Starlux

Striking EVA Air flight attendant caught jumping ship to join rival Taiwanese airline Starlux

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/28
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Chang (center) with four flight attendants. (Photo from TFAU Facebook page)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An EVA Air (長榮航空) flight attendant who had been taking part in a strike with her coworkers, has been found to have switched jobs to join upstart rival Starlux Airlines (星宇航空).

On Sunday (June 23), Liao Yi-chin (廖以勤) director of the Taoyuan Flight Attendant’s Union (TFAU), stood with four EVA Air flight attendants and bowed to offer their apologies for inconveniencing passengers during the strike. However, sharp-eyed netizens noticed that the flight attendant wearing glasses had already been hired as a Starlux Airlines flight attendant.

StarLux spokesman Nieh Kuo-wei (聶國維) said it was an individual act, and he hoped that the new recruit would understand that there will also be hardships when working for the new carrier, reported ETtoday. Starlux confirmed that the new flight attendant is scheduled to start working for the airline on July 1, while EVA Air acknowledged that the crew member had resigned on Wednesday (June 26), according to the report.

Regarding the TFAU's desire to participate in corporate governance, Nieh said that Starlux would not agree to this. Following the leadership style of StarLux Chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒), Nieh said that senior-level management will go to the front lines to communicate and discuss matters with flight attendants, crew members, the captain, and other personnel, so as to eliminate unnecessary misunderstandings among employees.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares close down 0.4%

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/28
By: Y.F. Low

Taipei, June 28 (CNA) Taiwan shares closed down 43.07 points, or 0.4 percent, at 10,730.83 Friday on turnover of NT$89.29 billion (US$2.88 billion).    [SOURCE]

Most production domestic, not in China

ADAPTING: A survey found that 15.8% of Taiwanese firms operating factories in China were considering adjusting or relocating their production lines to other countries

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 29, 2019
By: Natasha Li  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan surpassed China, including Hong Kong, to become the biggest manufacturing site for local companies last year, as makers of traditional goods such as machinery and petrochemicals shifted production back home to cope with a US-China trade dispute, a survey released yesterday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed.

The survey showed that 47.9 percent of orders received overseas were produced domestically last year, surpassing 46.7 percent in China.

China had been the largest manufacturing base for local firms since 2015, when 48.6 percent of goods were made in China and overseas manufacturing totaled 55.1 percent.

Local production stood at 46.8 percent in 2017, the survey showed.    [FULL  STORY]

Qualcomm 5G center breaks ground in Taiwan

Qualcomm is fulfilling its promise to increase its investment in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/27
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(Qualcomm Facebook photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A groundbreaking ceremony was held at Hsinchu Science Park on Thursday (June 27) for a new building complex for Qualcomm, an American semiconductor multinational.

The complex will house its Center for Operations, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Testing (COMET), a 5G test laboratory, a multimedia R&D center, and a mobile AI innovation center, reported Liberty Times.

This marks a milestone in the company’s plans to invest in Taiwan, according to Roawen Chen (陳若文), Qualcomm's senior vice president of global manufacturing technology and operations. Also attending the event was Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), who in his address described Qualcomm as a leading chipmaker and expressed hopes that the company’s presence in Taiwan would lead to a win-win relationship.    [FULL  STORY]

Formosa Plastics Group to give 3.378% pay raise

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/27
By: Wei Shu and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) The Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), one of Taiwan's leading conglomerates, said Thursday it will increase the salaries of its employees across the board by 3.378 percent, starting in July.

With the wage hike, the group's 33,000 employees will see an additional NT$1,800 (US$58.03) per month on average on their pay slips, according to the group.

The decision, which was reached in a meeting earlier in the day with its workers' union representatives, will cost FPG NT$59.4 million per month, the group said.

This is the fifth consecutive year that FPG is raising salaries by more than 3 percent, but the 3.378 percent agreed on is the lowest over the five-year period.    [FULL  STORY]