Terry Gou announced Wednesday he was willing to participate in KMT primaries

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/17
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – If Foxconn Technology Group Chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) runs for president, it might mean chaos for his company, Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Wednesday (April 17).

Gou announced the same day he was willing to participate in presidential primaries to be organized by the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) to select a candidate for the January 11, 2020.

The Japanese media reported that if Gou had to resign from the chairmanship of the group he founded, the absence of his centralized leadership style might cause confusion and chaos within the company, the Liberty Times reported.

Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry in Taiwan, is one of the world’s biggest supplier of electronic products, including iPhones for Apple, and also controls Japan’s Sharp Corporation.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/17
By: Pan Tzi-yu and Flor Wang

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) on Wednesday trimmed its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth rate for 2019 to 2.15 percent, down from 2.18 percent in December.

As with most other countries, Taiwan’s economy has slowed down since the middle of 2018, and it is expected to grow at a rate of less than 2 percent in the first half of this year.

The downward revision came because the slowdown was more pronounced than expected due to the ongoing trade disputes between the United States and China and the U.S. and Europe and fluctuations in raw materials prices, the CIER said.
[FULL  STORY]

The annual IT event will be held from May 28 through June 1 in Taipei

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/16
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – COMPUTEX Taipei 2019 is taking place at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall and Taipei World Trade Center between May 28 and June 1, presenting a platform to showcase the latest tech trends.

The annual IT fiesta will spotlight five themes, including AI & IoT, 5G, Blockchain, Innovations & Startups, and Gaming & XR, said the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) at a press event on April 16.

As many as 1,685 enterprises from home and abroad will set up 5,508 booths at the expo this year, the scale representing a 5.1 percent growth compared to last year.

According to TAITRA, the AI & IoT area will exhibit products and applications spanning smart household, smart transportation, wearables, and healthcare tech solutions.
[FULL  STORY]

Foxconn named as private entity targeted in recent hack of over 1,000 websites, also targeted were US law enforcement agencies

Taiwan News  
Date: 2019/04/15
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwanese company Foxconn has reportedly become the victim of a cyber attack, with assets and employee information compromised by a hack which targeted some private companies along with U.S. law enforcement and other government agencies over the weekend.

The group of hackers reportedly targeted public domains online, many with out-of-date plugins, to gain access to the private data. In the case of Foxconn, a webmail system was reportedly hacked via a sub-domain, compromising thousands of employee records, including email addresses and phone numbers

The extent of the hack, as well as the location of the compromised servers, has not been revealed. Foxconn was one of many entities targeted in the coordinated hacks which targeted over one thousand websites, according to the hackers.

Authorities learned of the hacks over the weekend and believe they were carried out by more than 10 individuals, according to Techcrunch.    [FULL  STORY]

POLLUTED WATER: The power output of generators No. 1 to No. 4 has been halved to demonstrate the plant’s willingness to lower pollution, Taipower said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 16, 2019
By: Natasha Li  /  Staff reporter

The Taichung City Government yesterday fined the Taichung Power Plant NT$20 million

(US$647,962) for poor management of industrial wastewater.

The Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau gave the coal-fired plant until April 30 to come up with a proposal to ameliorate the situation, bureau Director-General Wu Chih-chao (吳志超) said in a statement posted on the city government’s Web site.

The plant, which is run by state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), was fined in accordance with Section 40 of the Water Pollution Control Act (水污染防治法), Wu said.

It is the highest fine ever imposed on a state-owned enterprise, the statement said.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/13
By: Chung Jung-feng and Frances Huan 

Taipei, April 13 (CNA) A U.S.-based brokerage has raised its target price on shares of Taiwan’s manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. after the company reported better sales for the first quarter of this year.

In a research note, the U.S. securities house said it expects that Hon Hai, an iPhone assembler as well as the world’s largest contract electronics maker, will report an improvement in gross margin, which reflects the difference between revenue and cost of goods sold, on the back of the stronger sales for the first quarter.

Judging from the first-quarter sales, the brokerage said that Hon Hai has climbed from recent stagnation, so it has upgraded its target price on Hon Hai shares sharply to NT$105 (US$3.41) from NT$76.

In addition, the brokerage has also upgraded a recommendation on Hon Hai to “buy” from “neutral.”    [FULL  STORY]