Taiwan Today
Date: April 12, 2019

Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (second right) and MOEA Deputy Minister Wang Mei-hua (left) are joined by Facebook Inc. representatives at the opening of the social media company’s new Taiwan headquarters April 11 in Taipei City. (Courtesy of MOEA)
Facebook Inc. opened its new Taiwan headquarters April 11 at the Nan Shan Plaza skyscraper in Taipei City, underscoring the U.S.-based social media giant’s confidence in the local economy.

The 2,658-square-meter office will enable the company to expand its workforce, Facebook said. It also houses a training center designed to facilitate a joint talent cultivation initiative with the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Under the Made by Taiwan, Loved by the World program, the two sides are working to nurture 50,000 digital talents by 2020.

President Tsai Ing-wen, who visited the office the previous day, congratulated the company on her official Facebook page. In the post, she spotlighted the government’s commitment to providing opportunities for youth tech talents, as evidenced by the Asia Silicon Valley Development Plan.    [FULL  STORY]

Development of useful patents key element in awards win

Taiwan News 
Date: 2019/04/12
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

ITRI President Edwin Liu (right) with a representative of Hon Hai (left) and Nathan Fan of Clarivate Analytics (photo courtesy of ITRI). (By Central News Agency)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and Foxconn Technology Group, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., won Derwent Top 100 Global Innovator awards, reports said Friday.

ITRI, Taiwan’s largest applied research institute, won for the third time, a record for an Asian government institution, the Central News Agency reported.

The awards, unveiled by Clarivate Analytics, recommend institutes and companies responsible for valuable patents leading to the successful commercialization of products.
[FULL  STORY]

An inside look at how the convenience store chain began operating like a government agency.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/04/12
By: James Grant

I picked up my first Taiwan parking ticket the other day and, after identifying the issue with my choice of random roadside parking space, headed down to my nearest 7-Eleven to pay the fine.

After inexpertly cranking through a translation app, I established that my request to pay the “motorbike fee” was not sufficiently detailed – and that, between simultaneously microwaving three different meals to lunch temperature, the 7-Eleven staffer on duty did not know what I was trying to pay.

Eventually it became apparent the staff member was trying to establish whether I was trying to pay a parking or speeding ticket, and it became apparent to me that each 7-Eleven still possessed capabilities that I had no idea about.

In the UK there is debate about whether this can contribute to a criminal record, and in certain cases must be disclosed to your employer. Within my lifetime, I’ve seen two UK politicians serve prison sentences for picking up a speeding fine and opting to follow it up with a unhealthy dose of dishonesty. That this fairly serious offense can be dealt with at a Taiwan convenience store baffles me, as do many of 7-Eleven’s extracurricular activities.
[FULL  STORY]

Lens maker Largan among those expecting rebound after modest March sales gain

Nikkei Asian Review
Date: April 12, 2019
By: Cheng Ting-Fang, Nikkei staff writer

TAIPEI — Taiwanese electronics manufacturers rebounded in March from the industry’s

worst monthly revenue in three years, lifted by demand from Huawei Technologies, Oppo, Google, Amazon and other buyers besides Apple.

Total revenue at 19 Taiwanese tech companies tracked by the Nikkei Asian Review as a barometer of global electronics demand advanced 2.32% on the year in March to 915.87 billion New Taiwan dollars ($29.7 billion). This followed a nearly 2.5% decline on the year in February.

Adam Lin, CEO of high-end lens maker Largan Precision, expects orders to pick up in the coming months. The company counts Huawei as a major customer.    [FULL  STORY]

South Korea claims the largest market for new semiconductor products in 2018

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/11
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan dropped to the third place in terms of semiconductor

product sales in 2018, according to the Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics report released by SEMI Wednesday (April 10).

South Korea, for the second consecutive year, snatched the largest market for new semiconductor equipment with US$17.71 billion sales last year, while China moved up one place and emerged as the second largest market with sales of US$13.11 billion.

Taiwan, with US$10.17 billion in sales of related products, fell to the third position in 2018. Rankings for Japan, North America, Europe, and the rest of the world remained the same from 2017, the report pointed out.

Worldwide sales of manufacturing equipment in the semiconductor industry soared to a record high of US$64.5 billion in 2018 from US$56.62 billion in 2017, logging a 14 percent increase.    [FULL  STORY]

Facebook
Date: 2019/04/11
By: Flor Wang

Taipei, April 11 (CNA) Facebook Inc. opened a new Taiwan headquarters in Nan Shan

Plaza, in the Xinyi District of Taipei Thursday.

Taiwan is a very important market to Facebook and the relocation reflects the company’s confidence in the future of the local market by laying down a marker for its long-term development in Taiwan, said Dan Neary, Asia-Pacific president at the California-based social media and networking service company.

He said Facebook will continue to invest in Taiwan and looks forward to helping develop the many opportunities available to Taiwan as it seeks to connect to the rest of the world.

Speaking on the same occasion, Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said he was happy that Facebook had delivered on its promise to expand investment in Taiwan and help upgrade the development of Taiwan’s digital economy.    [FULL  STORY]