Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/23
By: Chang Chien-chung, Jeffrey Wu and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 23 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said Friday it incurred a loss of more than NT$6 billion (US$198 million) from a production disruption caused by substandard chemicals.

Based on a preliminary estimate, TSMC said the loss was about NT$6.1 billion and would be booked in the first quarter.

The incident was the second major operating incident for TSMC in a matter of months. It suffered NT$2.6 billion in losses after its computer system was infected with a virus in August 2018.

The production problem, which was identified on Jan. 19 and later found to be caused by problematic raw materials, resulted in low yields on wafers produced with the 12 nanometer and 16nm processes at TSMC’s Fab 14B, a 12-inch wafer foundry in Tainan.    [FULL  STORY]

An import tariff of 9.47 to 18.56% to be recommended for Taiwan’s stainless steel bars

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/22
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The South Korean Trade Commission is preparing to impose new anti-dumping tariffs on Taiwanese steel bars, according to a report from Yonhap News Agency.

The Trade Commission is preparing to send an official request to South Korea’s Financial Minister for a tariff of between 9.47 and 18.56 percent on stainless steel bars from Taiwan for up to five years.

In addition to the Taiwanese steel products, Italian steel bars are also being targeted by the anti-dumping measure.

According to the report from Yonhap, Taiwanese bars have been imported at excessively low prices on the Korean market which has damaged the domestic steel industry.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/22
By: Liao Yu-yang and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) Taiwan continued to feel the pinch of weakening global demand, reporting the third consecutive month of year-on-year decline in export orders in January, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Friday.

According to data compiled by the MOEA, export orders placed with Taiwanese firms in January fell 6.0 percent from a year earlier to US$40.49 billion after a 10.5 percent fall in December and a 2.1 percent drop in November.

On a month-on-month basis, the January figure was down 6.7 percent and after seasonal adjustments, it was also down 0.8 percent, the data indicates.

The MOEA said that due to trade tension between the United States and China that continued to create uncertainty over global demand, coupled with the slow-season effect in the electronics industry, Taiwan’s exporters saw their orders affected.    [FULL  STORY]

New stores are being planned for Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Malaysia as well

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/21
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Japanese discount store chain, Don Quijote, announced plans to increase its presence across Asia on Feb. 20, with new stores to be launched in Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

A new store of the retailer, also known as Donki, was inaugurated in an upscale residential area of Bangkok on Thursday, as part of the company’s ambitious plans to expand its overseas business by increasing the number of establishments from 41 to 200, reported Nikkei Asian Review.

According to Koji Ohara, president and CEO of Don Quijote chain operator, Pan Pacific International Holdings, the Bangkok store is expected to generate 2 billion yen (US$18 million) in annual sales, the report quoted him.

The franchise is known for its wide array of merchandise from daily necessities to second-hand watches available at bargain prices, wrote the Straits Times. Shoppers will also find a large variety of Japanese snacks as well as cosmetics and medicine that serve as top choices for international visitors looking for souvenirs, said Liberty Times.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/02/20
By: Tang Pei-chun and Elizabeth Hsu

Brussels, Feb. 19 (CNA) The European Union will not rule out the possibility of signing a bilateral

investment agreement (BIA) with Taiwan, even though it upholds the “one China” policy, an EU official in charge of trade affairs in Asia said Tuesday.

The EU included Taiwan on its list of trade partners for BIAs in 2015, but since then, it has not held negotiations with Taipei on the issue, except to state in a trade policy report released in September 2017 that it was preparing to hold investment talks with Taiwan.

At a public hearing on EU-Taiwan trade relations held by the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), Peter Berz of the European Commission responsible for trade links with the Far East, was asked by an attending parliamentarian if the reluctance to sign the BIA with Taiwan was the result of pressure from China.

Berz replied that although the EU adheres to the “one China” policy, it will not rule out the possibility of forging such an accord with Taiwan, adding that any such talks will require European Commission approval.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 20 February, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

London-based Taiwanese fashion designer ApuJan has just launched a new autumn/winter collection.

The collection is called “A Game of Detection” and was released on Monday.

The ApuJan brand is one of Taiwan’s top ten culture and creative brands. ApuJan himself has been selected as one of the GQ Taiwan’s Men of the Year. His collections are often featured in major fashion publications including GQ, Vogue, Bazaar and ELLE. He has collaborated with Taiwanese airline EVA Air on its in-flight loungewear and with the Cloud Gate Dance Company on dancers’ costumes.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/20
By:  Central News Agency

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will seek compensation from the company that provided it with substandard raw materials resulting in several hundred million U.S. dollars in sales losses earlier this year, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said Tuesday.

However, TSMC declined to reveal the name of the supplier or the sum of the claim.

The statement came after a local newspaper reported earlier Tuesday that American chemical corporation Dow Chemical was the supplier of the substandard photoresist materials.

The report also said TSMC will seek NT$4 billion (US$129.88 million) in compensation from Dow.
[FULL  STORY]