Taiwan News  
Date: 2019/06/07
By:  Central News Agency

Brussels (CNA) – Taiwan’s cooperation with the European Union (EU) entered a new chapter earlier this week when the first ever Taiwan-EU Dialogue on Digital Economy (DDE) was held in Brussels, the chief of the National Development Council (NDC) has said.

The two-day meeting that began on June 4 was considered a breakthrough in Taiwan-EU relations because the two sides instituted a high-level process for dialogue, said NDC chief Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶), who co-chaired the meeting.

With the digital economy vital to the future of the high-tech and other industries, Taiwan and the EU held in-depth discussions on industrial digitization, AI development strategy, online platforms and information security, Chen told CNA in an interview Thursday (local time).

The EU is pushing a Digital Single Market strategy that aims to integrate the domestic markets of its members, while Taiwan’s government is promoting its DIGI+ program focused on transforming Taiwan into a smart country, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/07
By: Wei Shu and Frances Huang 

Taipei, June 7 (CNA) Transactions of residential and commercial property in Taiwan’s six largest cities rose about 15 percent from a month earlier in May with momentum extending from April on deferred buying, according to local government land departments.

Data compiled by local governments on transactions of homes, shops and offices in the six cities — Taiwan, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — rose to about 22,000 units, an increase of 14.9 percent from a month earlier. The May figure was also up 7.8 percent from a year earlier.

The strong showing in May was a product of continued momentum from April, when transactions of residential and commercial property increased 4.1 percent from a month earlier and also rose 28.1 percent from a year earlier.    [FULL  STORY]

Apple is set to open its second Taiwan store in Taipei’s Xinyi District on June 15

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Apple Inc., is set to open its second Taiwan store in Taipei’s Xinyi District on June 15, announced the company on Wednesday (June 5).

The new structure has been erected on a plot of land designated as “Apple Xinyi A13,” next to the “A11” Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store. It is situated on the corner of Songshou Road and Songren Road and adjacent to land designated for the new Far Eastern Department Store.

Apple announced on Wednesday that the new store in Xinyi will open at 10 a.m. on June 15. During its opening weekend, it will hold a “Today at Apple” event and will invite many Taiwanese creatives to participate, including the winner of Best Mandarin Female Singer at the 28th Golden Melody Awards Eve Ai (艾怡良) and illustrator Duncan.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/05
By: Liao Yu-yang and Emerson Lim

Taipei, June 5 (CNA) Consumer prices rose 0.94 percent in May from a year earlier, reaching to a seven-month high, as the prices of fruits, vegetables, fuel and travel expenses increased, government statistics showed Wednesday.

However, a decline in the cost of garments, communications expenses, and 3C products offset the rise in the consumer price index (CPI) to some extent, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said.

Month-on-month, the CPI rose 0.15 percent in May, but after seasonal adjustments the increase was 0.06 percent, the DGBAS said.

The year-on-year growth of the CPI in May was the highest so far this year, according to the DGBAS data.    [FULL  STORY]

TIGHT SPOT: The contract chipmaker said it would continue shipments to the Chinese smartphone vendor as long as they are in compliance with international trade rules

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 06, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter, in HSINCHU

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract

chipmaker, yesterday warned that Huawei Technologies Co (華為) has cut orders, likely because of flagging demand for premium smartphones and higher inventory.

Washington’s trade sanctions on Huawei “will affect [TSMC] in the short term,” TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) told a news conference after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting.

“The question is whether the market will accept a smartphone without Android,” he added.

Google has barred the Chinese technology giant’s access to updates of the Android operating system to comply with the US government’s trade regulations.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/03
By: Frances Huang

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan recovered from an earlier drop of more than 100 points to end little changed from a session earlier as the bellwether electronics sector staged a rebound from earlier doldrums, dealers said.

However, turnover remained thin, as many investors stayed on the sidelines, watching anxiously how the trade dispute between the United States and China will unfold and whether the U.S. will proceed with its threats to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico, the dealers said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), or Taiex, ended up 1.58 points, or 0.02 percent, at 10,500.07, after moving between 10,383,51 and 10,511,20, on turnover of NT$95.62 billion (US$3.04 billion).

The market opened down 0.15 percent and soon fell about 115 points to the day’s low in the early morning session in the wake of a downturn suffered by U.S. markets, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 1.41 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 1.51 percent Friday, the dealers said.    [FULL  STORY]