The Council of Agriculture minister hopes the problem can be solved by the introduction of outreach services

Taiwan News   
Date: 2019/03/24 
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Yunlin County Magistrate Chang Li-shan (張麗善) petitioned Taiwan’s agriculture and labor authorities to introduce migrant workers to solve the problem of labor shortages in Taiwan’s agricultural sector, Central News Agency (CNA) reported on Friday.

While accompanying Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) on a tour to inspect the damage of garlic and tea in the county due to the warm weather in the winter, Chang asked the minister to expedite cash compensation for the damaged plants and open Taiwan’s agricultural sector to migrant workers, CNA reported.

Chang said that 49.7% of the county’s population work for the agricultural sector, and that the county has the highest agricultural output in the country, with annual outputs exceeding NT$70 billion (about US$2.3 billion) three years in a row from 2015 to 2017, the news outlet reported .

However, the aging agricultural labor force in the county has not been able to sustain the harsh working conditions of exposing themselves to a scorching sun or cold temperatures, causing concern that the agricultural labor force shortage could lower the county’s agricultural output, Chang said, according to CNA.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/24
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, March 24 (CNA) Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2019 will

remain above 2 percent this year due to firming domestic demand and investment, according to Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) President Chang Chien-yi (張建一).

Chang made the forecast after the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) recently lowered its forecast for Taiwan’s 2019 economic growth to 2.27 percent from an earlier estimate of a 2.41 percent increase made in November 2018.

Taiwan’s central bank also decided last week to cut its 2019 GDP growth forecast for the country by 0.2 percentage points from its previous estimate in December 2018 to 2.13 percent.

The two downward revisions sparked concerns that growth could possibly fall below 2 percent.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/23
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang 

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Local confidence in Taiwan’s economy improved for a second consecutive month in March as optimism over a possible resolution of the U.S.-China trade war offset concerns over disappointing economic data.

In a survey of its clients conducted by Cathay Financial Holding Co. in the first week of March, 26.7 percent of respondents said they expected the economy to improve over the next six months, while 33.8 percent said it would worsen.

The figure translated into an economic optimism index for the next six months of minus 7.1 in March, up from minus 19.2 in a similar poll conducted in February, Cathay Financial said.

The optimism index for current economic conditions, meanwhile, also improved to minus 10.4 in March, up from minus 28.8 in February, Cathay Financial said.    [FULL  STORY]

This year 528 companies submitted CSR reports last year, up from 149 companies reporting five years ago

Taiwan News   
Dates: 2019/03/22 
By: Duncan Deaeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Fifth annual “Taiwan Sustainability Reporting” conference was held in Taipei on March 22, with the head of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Timothy Mohin, along with over 200 other experts in sustainability reporting in attendance.

The conference, hosted in part by local Taiwan sustainability reporting platform, CSRone, is intended to provide a forum where private industries, NGOs, and government can come together towards improving sustainability reporting and encouraging responsible corporate conduct at large.

The theme of this year’s conference was “breaking boundaries, and creating opportunities.”

CSRone’s Chairman Gennie Yen (嚴德芬) noted in her address that when Taiwan began analyzing and compiling a national sustainability report five years ago in 2013, only 149 companies submitted corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports for the first year’s conference.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/22
By: Pan Chih-yi and Frances Huang 

Taipei, March 22 (CNA) Giant Manufacturing Co., one of Taiwan’s leading bicycle brands, is planning to take a subsidiary located in China’s Kunshan to public in the China stock market.

In a filing posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) Thursday, the bicycle brand said Giant Light Metal Technology (Kunshan) Co., which manufactures finished and semi-finished aluminum industrial products, is planning to seek approval from Chinese securities authorities to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares as a Chinese yuan-denominated A-share in China.

According to Giant, the subsidiary has taken the lead over peers in aluminum material production for the bicycle and motorcycle market in East China.

The listing aims to speed up Giant’s pace of expanding business in China and attracting professionals to work for the company, which is expected to boost the company’s influence and integrate the company’s resources.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/21
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, March 21 (CNA) The first Kimpton hotel in Asia opened Thursday in Taipei, in line

with a market trend where many global chain hotels are choosing to invest in Taiwan as a luxury destination.

Kimpton Da An, which is under the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), sits in the Da’an district and features 129 rooms with five unique designs as an urban retreat away from the bustling streets, the hotel said.

“Over the years, we see lifestyle hotels become increasingly trending globally,” said Jolyon Bulley, CEO of IHG Greater China. “We are very excited to build our presence in the luxury market in Taiwan as we introduce the Kimpton brand.”

IHC currently has seven hotels in Taiwan under such brands as Indigo, Holiday Inn and Regent, and is planning to introduce its most well-known hotel, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, to Taichung, said Wang Lin (王藺), IHG’s chief marketing officer for Greater China.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwqan
Date: 2019/03/21
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Flor Wang 

Taipei, March 21 (CNA) Despite the slowing global economy, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is expected to pass its South Korean counterpart to regain the second spot in global production value this year, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) said Thursday.

According to ITRI’s Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center, the output value of the local semiconductor industry is likely to expand 0.9 percent to NT$2.64 trillion (US$85.75 billion) in 2019, up from NT$2.62 trillion in 2018.

On the basis of those figures, the Taiwanese industry is expected to retake second place in global production value with a market share of 20 percent, second only to the United States, which enjoys a 40 percent market share, the center said.

However, it is forecast that the world’s global chip sector will slide by 20 percent this year, which will help Intel Corp. pass Samsung to become the world’s top semiconductor maker, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ranked third, the center said.
[FULL  STORY]