Taiwan T&oday
Date: April 30, 2019

President Tsai Ing-wen said April 29 that Taiwan’s business environment is going from strength to strength under a host of progressive policies aimed at bolstering the fundamentals of the national economy.

The time is ripe for businesses to invest in Taiwan and take advantage of its advanced infrastructure development, comprehensive intellectual property rights protection, high-caliber human resources and world-leading industrial clusters, Tsai said.

Tsai made the remarks during the groundbreaking ceremony for an R&D facility operated by U.S.-based Super Micro Computer Inc. in Taoyuan City, northern Taiwan.

According to Tsai, the NT$2 billion (US$64.73 million) center is a vote of confidence by Supermicro in Taiwan’s economic outlook. It also augurs well for the success of the high-tech outfit’s plans to invest an additional NT$8 billion in Taiwan and create 2,000 quality jobs for locals, she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Tsai government nears goal of bringing 50 companies and NT$250 billion in investment back to Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/30
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has been making the most of the U.S.-China trade war by successfully luring back 40 Taiwanese companies and is on a pace to quickly surpass its year-end a goal of 50 firms and NT$250 billion (US$8 billion).

As the tariff war kicked in last year, many Taiwanese companies found themselves caught in the crossfire with their costs at factories in China skyrocketing, suddenly making Taiwan much more appealing. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) capitalized on this opportunity by starting the “Invest Taiwan” campaign last year to incentivize Taiwanese companies to return from China.

The Tsai administration says that overseas compatriots and foreign entrepreneurs invested NT$536.5 billion in Taiwan last year, an increase of 31 percent over the previous year, reported TVBS.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Invest Taiwan office reports that in the past four months, it has generated NT$200 billion in returnee investments. At this rate, the country will easily meet it’s year-end goal of NT$250 billion by the end of May.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/30
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Frances Huang 

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.72 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter, falling short of the 1.82 percent growth projected in February, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Tuesday.

The lower than expected figure resulted largely from weaker than expected private consumption during the period, when sales posted by cars, motorcycle and information communications device vendors fell, even as revenue posted by online vendors increased, the DGBAS said.

First quarter GDP growth was also down slightly from the 1.78 percent increase seen in the fourth quarter of 2018 and was the lowest quarterly growth figure since hitting 1.22 percent in the second quarter of 2016, data compiled by the DGBAS showed.

Private consumption rose 1.45 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, compared with a previous estimate of a 1.79 percent increase, and boosted overall GDP growth by 0.86 percentage points, the DGBAS said.    [FULL  STORY]

The influencer is urging Tsai not to run for re-election on behalf of the DPP, citing her slim odds based on the latest polls.

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/29
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In the wake of more gloomy polls for sitting President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF) Chairman Yu Ying-lung (游盈隆) is urging Tsai not to run for re-election on behalf of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), citing her slim odds of winning based on the latest polls.

Taiwan’s presidential election is only 10 months away, while the two major political parties, the DPP and Kuomintang (KMT), have yet to nail down presidential candidates, given the challenges of big-name contestants in primaries.

Yu recently reasoned in a commentary that the DPP should play its trump card to stay in power for the 2020 presidential race.

According to the TPOF’s latest poll, former premier William Lai (賴清德) leads potential candidates for the 2020 presidential race, and remains ahead of Tsai Ing-wen by a whopping 22 percentage points for the DPP primary.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/29
By: Liao Yu-yang and Evelyn Kao 

Taipei, April 29 (CNA) Taiwan’s second-biggest flat panel maker, AU Optronics Corp.

(AUO), remained the big6gest applicant for invention patents in Taiwan in the first quarter of 2019, while Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. remained the foreign company with the most local invention patent filings, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) said Monday.

A total of 8,696 applications were submitted by Taiwanese citizens and companies in Q1, down 5 percent compared with the same period of last year, while 8,547 were filed by foreign nationals and companies, up 0.1 percent year-on-year, according to IPO statistics.

AUO filed 187 invention patent applications during the first quarter, up 41 percent from a year earlier and the eighth consecutive quarterly increase, the statistics showed.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, was second among domestic companies, with 163 invention patent applications in the three-month period, up 68 percent from a year earlier, while PC brand Acer Inc. came in third with 96 applications, up 23 percent year-on-year.    [FULL  STORY]

The company wishes to tap into the potential of blockchain technology

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/28
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan-headquartered electronics manufacturer HTC is set to

release a second-generation blockchain phone in the second half of the year to increase its presence in the global blockchain market.

The announcement was made by HTC Decentralized Chief Officer Phil Chen (陳信生) in a keynote speech on the topic of decentralization. The speech was featured at an investment trend forum held at Taipei 101 on Friday (April 26).

Chen said the development of blockchain technology is still at a nascent stage, but he envisions a future where the advancement of the technology will unlock tremendous commercial potential. This could be seen as analogous to the commercial value of petroleum from the 1900s onward, Central News Agencyquoted him as saying.

The benefit of blockchain lies in the accessibility to data while ensuring privacy for users, Chen added, underscoring the value of the relatively untapped technology.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: 2019/04/29
By: Frances Huang 

Taipei, April 29 (CNA) The U.S. dollar was traded at NT$30.900 at 10 a.m. Monday on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, down NT$0.007 from the previous close.     [SOURCE]

Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation promotes ‘Make In India’ with incentives for Taiwanese companies

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/27
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Indian state of Gujarat has extended an open invitation to Taiwanese companies to come invest and trade in the region, even offering real estate for a dedicated manufacturing base.

According to reports, the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) met with representatives of the Taiwan External trade Development Office (TAITRA) on Friday, and pitched a “Make in India” offer for Taiwanese investment.

TAITRA Director Krist YB Yen, and Taiwan Representative to India Chung-Kwang Tien both spoke positively about the potential of future cooperation between India and Taiwan on Friday.

Citing increased risk and instability of trade and investments in China, India is looking for more stable, long-term trade partnerships in the region, reports DNA India.
[FULL  STORY]