Business and Finance

Taiwan Navigation signs contract to have two 81,600-ton bulk carriers built

The company plans to increase its competitiveness by eliminating old ships and introducing new ones

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/10
By:: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Navigation Co. (台灣航業) signed a shipbuilding contract

(Photo source: Taiwan Navigation)

with Sumitomo Corporation and Oshima Shipbuilding Co. on Tuesday to have two 81,600-ton bulk carriers built and delivered by 2022, Liberty Times reported on Wednesday.

Taiwan Navigation said that the company plans to increase its competitiveness in the fast-changing bulk cargo market by eliminating old ships and introducing new ones, Liberty Times reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Taichung Power Plant could be ordered to partially suspend operations

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/10
By: Tsai Peng-min, Su Mu-chun and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) The Taichung City government is considering ordering coal-fired

Photo for illustrative purposes only / CNA file photo

Taichung Power Plant to suspend operation of four generators after wastewater from the plant has been repeatedly found to contain excessive levels of nitrate nitrogen pollution.

The city government said the plant discharged polluted waste water in violation of environmental protection laws three times in the first three months of this year, according to a United Daily News report Wednesday.

The last round of tests on March 21 were conducted on waste water from the plant’s number 1-4 generators and showed a level of nitrate nitrogen 200 percent higher than the maximum allowable level.

As a repeat offender, the plant could be fined up to NT$20 million (US$648,462) and be ordered to suspend operations, according to the report.    [FULL  STORY]

Michelin awards 24 Taipei restaurants

FINE DINING: Three-star Le Palais has seen its revenue double since being awarded the honor, despite a 25% cut in seats, and has again obtained the highest rating

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 11, 2019
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Michelin SCA yesterday released its second Michelin Guide Taipei, awarding 24 eateries for culinary excellence, recognitions that are bound to boost their revenue and customers by double-digit percentages.

The 260-page book, cosponsored by the Tourism Bureau, has helped attract food lovers from around Taiwan and the world, lending force to Taipei’s gastronomical presence on the global stage, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-jong (祁文中) said.

For this year’s guide, 127 dining establishments were reviewed, 24 of which were given from one to three stars based on reviews by anonymous food inspectors, Michelin Guide international director Gwendal Poullennec said.

Le Palais (頤宮), the Cantonese restaurant of Palais de Chine (君品酒店) near Taipei Railway Station, was again awarded three stars, the highest honor, which indicates a restaurant with exceptional cuisine that merits a special journey, Poullenec said.
[FULL  STORY]

New Taipei buses under fire for providing free Wi-Fi using Huawei products

Formosa News
Date: 2019/04/09

In New Taipei, public bus companies are coming under scrutiny for offering free onboard Wi-Fi using Huawei products. Chinese tech giant Huawei has already been hit with bans in several countries over information security concerns. Here in Taiwan, there’s a Huawei ban too, but it only extends to state agencies. The New Taipei City government says it cannot ban bus companies from using Huawei products. Officials say all they can do is investigate data breaches and remind operators to watch out for security risks.

Reports have surfaced that New Taipei’s public buses use Huawei’s 4G SIM cards to provide free Wi-Fi.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan hikes fines for illegal investments from China

Chinese interference with the century-old Tatung Group inspired the tougher measures

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/09
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – NT$25 million (US$810,000) is the new maximum fine for illegal

Illegal Chinese investment in the Tatung Group inspired Taiwan to raise fines. (By Central News Agency)

investments from China, following the third reading of an amendment by the Legislative Yuan Tuesday.

The hike from NT$600,000 (US$19,400) was inspired by a Hong Kong affiliate of SinoPac Financial Holdings Co., Ltd. accepting unapproved Chinese funds to invest in the Tatung Group and influence the management of the century-old electronics and household appliance group.

The Financial Supervisory Commission ordered the Chinese investor to withdraw and to pay a fine of NT$600,000, which was deemed too low by many, the Central News Agency reported.

The government said the influx of unapproved Chinese funds was influencing proceedings on the local capital market, requiring more vigorous supervision including higher fines.
[FULL  STORY]

IMF forecasts Taiwan GDP growth at 2.5% for 2019, 2020

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/09
By: Chiang Chin-yeh and Evelyn Kao 

Taipei, April 9 (CNA) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow 2.5 percent in 2019 and 2020 in its latest World Economic Outlook report released Tuesday.

The IMF forecast for 2019 represents an increase from the 2 percent made in April 2018 and 2.4 percent in October 2018.

According to the IMF, consumer prices in Taiwan will grow 1.1 percent in 2019 and 1.2 percent in 2020, while unemployment was projected at 3.7 percent for the two years.

The IMF forecast GDP growth in China at 6.3 percent and 6.1 percent in 2019 and 2020.
[FULL  STORY]

Rising shipments lift flat-panel makers

RECOVERY: Top panel makers AU Optronics and Innolux saw revenue reverse up last month after months of decline, as demand for TV and PC panels rebounded

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 10, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s two biggest flat-panel makers, AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) and Innolux Corp (群創), yesterday said that revenue last month rebounded due to rising panel shipments across the board.

Hsinchu-based AUO said that its revenue climbed 17.4 percent to NT$24.39 billion (US$790.8 million) last month from NT$20.78 billion in February, breaking a six-month downward spiral due to overcapacity.

Shipments of TV and PC panels rose 19 percent sequentially to 9.68 million units last month, while shipments of small and medium-sized panels rebounded 50.7 percent to 102.7 million units, a company statement said.

However, the first quarter remained a weak period for AUO, with revenue sliding 10.4 percent to NT$66.71 billion from NT$74.45 billion in the same period last year.
[FULL  STORY]

New Taipei promotes group purchases to resolve a glut of guavas

New Taipei Farmers’ Association will take the lead in promoting group purchases of the fruit via Internet

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/08
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Fruit & Vegetable)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New Taipei City Fruit & Vegetable Marketing (新北果菜公司) will work with the guava producing county of Changhua during the period, April 4 – 15, to promote group purchases of guavas and overcome the glut that fruit farmers are facing, Liberty Times reported on Monday.

New Taipei City Farmers’ Association Chairman Lin Xi-shuei (林溪水) said the association will take the lead in promoting online group purchases of the fruit. It will also pool together the efforts of all supermarkets and marketing departments from the city’s farmers’ associations, according to the news outlet.

Lin’s tips for selecting guavas included the suggestion that fruit with obvious wrinkles, convex and concave surfaces, are better because it means they have more pulp and less seeds. He also suggested that consumers choose greenish guavas that are slightly yellow to white because they have a better, more mellow taste.

New Taipei City Fruit & Vegetable Marketing General Manager Chiang Huei-chen (江惠貞) said sampling inspections are conducted every day on the fruit and vegetables sent to the wholesale market, according to Liberty Times.    [FULL  STORY]

Bucking world trend, hotel room prices in Taiwan fall 1%

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/08
By: Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao 

Taipei, April 8 (CNA) While prices for overnight accommodation rose 3 percent globally in 2018 from a year earlier, reaching the highest level since 2004, the average hotel room price in Taiwan dropped 1 percent year-on-year, according to research results released Monday by online travel portal Hotels.com.

The Hotel Price Index revealed that every regional index, apart from the Pacific, received a boost last year.

Travelers paid more in 2018 for their hotel rooms in around 60 percent of international destinations compared with 2017, with prices in Paris seeing the highest rise of 14 percent.

The Hotel Price Index is used as a measure of competitiveness in the global tourism industry, Hotels.com President Adam Jay said, adding that while hotel room prices in most regions around the world registered an increase last year, there was no sign of a pickup for the travel industry in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Exports fall on low electronics demand

BRIGHTER OUTLOOK: Exports have a chance of increasing by 2.5 percent this month as companies recover some confidence, the Department of Statistics’ director-general said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 09, 2019
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s exports last month contracted 4.4 percent from a year earlier to US$28.68 billion, after an 8.8 percent decline in February, as demand for electronics remained soft in the traditional slow season, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

However, improving business confidence might nudge outbound shipments temporarily back into growth territory this month, as the US and China negotiate further and seek to end their trade differences, the ministry said.

“Exports have a moderate chance of increasing by 2.5 percent this month, as companies recover some confidence,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said.

The increase might not be enough to reverse a quarterly decline for the April-to-June period, when technology brands typically remain low key ahead of the release of next-generation models in the fall, Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]