Business and Finance

Hon Hai denies early start to layoffs

INDUSTRY DOWNTURN: A number of firms that supply components for smartphones have told their employees that there would be no required overtime for the holiday

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 23, 2019
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, yesterday denied media reports that it in October last year begun massive layoffs at its Chinese plants to cope with one of the most severe downturns in the smartphone industry in a decade.

Workforce adjustments at facilities are a routine part of operations based on shifts in global strategy and client needs, Hon Hai said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, adding that it aims to hire 50,000 workers at its Chinese campuses.

The company, a primary assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhones, said that it remains committed to preparing workers for a transformation toward industrial Internet and smart manufacturing technologies.

The announcement came after a highly cited Nikkei report on Friday last week that said the company has sacked 50,000 seasonal contract workers at its most important iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and is looking to cut a total of 100,000 jobs.
[FULL  STORY]

S. Taiwan exports jujubes to Japan for the first time

The variety of “Kaohsiung No.12 Cherish” is sweet, crispy, and juicy, and is therefore expected to become a staple export

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/21
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Tainan City in southern Taiwan will export jujubes (蜜棗) to Japan for the first time after setting out to achieve the goal seven years ago, according to a Chinese-language Liberty Times report on Monday.

Although Taiwan’s jujubes have excellent quality and flavor, the country’s effort to export the fruit to Japan had suffered setbacks because Taiwan is an Oriental fruit fly epidemic area.

A major break came when Tainan Agriculture Trading Co located in Tainan’s Yujing District passed inspection by using a freezing process to kill pests, the report said. The company will, for the first time, export jujubes to Japan after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Tainan Agriculture Trading Co general manager Lee Wei-hsiung (李威雄) said that obtaining permission to export jujubes to the Japanese market, which is characterized by consumers with high levels of disposable income, is especially helpful in increasing the economic value of the fruit, according to the report.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares end higher amid U.S.-China trade hopes

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/21
By: Frances Huang 

Taipei, Jan. 21 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan continued their momentum from the previous session to close higher Monday, with local investors encouraged by gains posted by U.S. markets at the end of last week amid hopes the United States and China are moving toward a resolution of their trade disputes, dealers said.

Buying was apparent in the bellwether electronics sector, led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) as bargain hunters picked up the stock, which had been hammered by its lower than expected sales guidance for the first quarter, they said.

Turnover remained moderate as the on-going earnings season in Taiwan and on Wall Street has turned some investors away from the local main board, and such caution also led some investors to shift to the sell side, preventing the broader market from ending above 9,900 points, dealers said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) or the Taiex ended up 53.34 points, or 0.54 percent, at 9,889.40, after moving between 9,870.27 and 9,919.94, on turnover of NT$91.79 billion (US$2.98 billion).    [FULL  STORY]

Export data decline hits 32-month high

SLUMPING DEMAND: Slowing growth in the high-end smartphone segment was a main driver of the decline and the economic ministry advised firms to explore African markets

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 22, 2019
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Export orders last month fell 10.5 percent annually to US$43.38 billion, marking the steepest monthly decline in 32 months as slowing global economic growth and trade tensions took a heavy toll on external demand, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

On a monthly basis, orders declined 9 percent, accelerating from a 2.7 percent fall in November, the ministry said.

Overall, aggregate export orders in the past year still rose 3.9 percent to US$511.82 billion to set a new high, the ministry said.

The decline in orders last month was primarily driven by tepid demand for high-end smartphones and cryptocurrency mining equipment, which sent shocks across the local technology and electronics industry, Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) told a news conference in Taipei.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Pavilion shines at a luxury travel exhibition in India

The Taiwan Pavilion is the only exhibitor at the trade show to win two awards

Taiwan News 
Date: 2019/01/20
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan Visitors Association’s Singapore Office director Dr. Trust H.J. Lin (third from left)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwan Pavilion was recognized with two awards at India’s leading trade show on business; meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE); and luxury travel, which took place on Jan. 18 and 19 in Delhi.

Business Luxury Travel Mart (BLTM) was held at the LEELA Ambience Convention Hotel. Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau had formulated a marketing strategy targeting the main theme of the bureau’s campaign for 2019 promoting Taiwan’s charming small towns to the top 2% of income earners in India, catering to their luxury shopping taste. The bureau also incorporated some of the tour packages that Taiwan’s tourism industry has been promoting by offering incentives.

The Taiwan Pavilion won “the best MICE product award” as well as “the best pavilion design award,” making it the only exhibitor at the trade show to win two awards.

This year’s BLTM gathered 150 plus exhibitors, and 250 plus hosted buyers from 11 countries and 13 Indian states.    [FULL  STORY]

Experts express concern over Huawei surpassing Apple

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/20
By: Jiang Ming-yan and William Yen

CNA file photo

Taipei, Jan. 20 (CNA) Experts have expressed concern of negative impact on the country’s manufactures as Taiwan-headquartered market research firm TrendForce said recently that China’s Huawei could overtake Apple Inc. this year to become the world’s second- largest smartphone maker.

Hua Nan Securities Investment Management Chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said some Taiwanese manufacturers have relatively close relationships with Apple and he speculated that if Huawei sales grow and Apple declines, it will have a negative impact on those Taiwanese companies.

Some of the companies that could be impacted include Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., B-Tek Technology Inc. and Catcher Technology C.o, as they accept relatively large orders from Apple, Chu pointed out.

According to a 2018 list of Apple’s supply chain, a total of 42 Taiwanese manufacturers were supplying the tech giant, including Largan Precision, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Compal Electronics.    [FULL  STORY]

FAT no longer accepting cryptocurrency purchases

MARKET DISRUPTION: The airline said the system gave people discounts of up to 55% on their tickets, which could force airlines to continuously lower their prices

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 21, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Far Eastern Air Transport Corp (FAT, 遠東航空) has voluntarily stopped accepting Airline and Life Networking Tokens (ALLN) — a cryptocurrency — for ticket purchases, due to concerns that doing so could disrupt the market order and lead to a race to the bottom, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said on Friday.

FAT told the Central News Agency that it has stopped using the system, but made no public statement.

The ALLN system, developed by FAT’s parent company, Huafu Enterprise Holdings Ltd (樺福集團), offered passengers discounted tickets as low as 55 percent of the original price, the carrier said.

The system, which was introduced in August last year, has the potential to generate tickets below the regulated minimum price for domestic flight tickets, the CAA said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan exports honey oranges and cabbages to Singapore

Agricultural exports are part of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/19
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwanese honey oranges or ponkan available in Singapore. (By Central News Agency)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Ahead of the Lunar New Year, Taiwan is exporting its “ponkan” honey oranges and cabbages to Singapore, a key destination for the government’s New Southbound Policy.

Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016, Taiwan has been promoting closer ties to the nations of South and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

The Council of Agriculture provided assistance earlier this year to ship one container full of local cabbages from Yunlin County to Singapore, where they should soon appear on supermarket shelves, the Central News Agency reported.

As the number of Singaporeans visiting Taiwan increased, more of them had started to appreciate the fragrant crispiness of the cabbage, according to officials. While supermarkets in the city-state sold cabbages from different countries, the Taiwanese product was highly competitive, CNA reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Foreign brokerages cut target prices for TSMC shares on Q1 caution

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/19
By: Jeffrey Wu and Frances Huang 

Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) Several foreign brokerages have cut their target prices for shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, after the company gave weaker-than-expected sales guidance Thursday for the first quarter of this year.

In a research note, one Asian brokerage firm said that increasing weakness in global demand in recent months has prompted TSMC to issue a lower-than-expected sales forecast for the January-March period.

The falling demand boosted inventory levels in the global semiconductor industry, prompting TSMC to adjust its inventories, sending shipments lower in the first quarter.

As a result, the securities house has lowered its target price for TSMC shares to NT$254 (US$8.25) from NT$260, predicting that inventory adjustments could continue into the second quarter.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan owns four greatest strengths for startups: KPMG

The accounting firm indicates that rich talent, strong intellectual property laws, well-established supply chain in electronics, and good geographic location make Taiwan an ideal environment for startups

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/18
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei 101 (By Taiwan News)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The government of Taiwan has been dedicated to creating a business-friendly environment for startups, and today a global accounting and consulting firm named four strengths that make the country primed for startup success.

In a startup seminar on Friday, KPMG’s innovation and startups service team leader Daisy Kuo (郭冠纓) indicated that rich talent, strong intellectual property laws, well-established supply chain in electronics, and good geographic location make Taiwan a little bit easier to get off the ground.

Kuo said that the country has a rich and high-value talent pool in IT, ICT, cultural & creative, and medical sectors. Also, the costs of going public are far lower than other markets. She took Hong Kong and the United States as examples, saying the costs of an IPO is NT$20-24 million in Hong Kong and over NT$100 million in the U.S., which are twofold and tenfold higher, respectively, than in Taiwan.

These strengths have made Taiwan an attractive destination for some startups outside the country, she added.    [FULL  STORY]