Business and Finance

Former economics minister chosen as new TIER chairman

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/18
By: Pan Tzi-yu and Ko Lin

Wang Chih-kang (王志剛/CNA file photo)

Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) Wang Chih-kang (王志剛), a former economics minister, was named Friday to succeed the late Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) as chairman of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER), one of the country’s leading think tanks.

Chiang, who also served as chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) from 2008 to 2012, died on Dec. 10, 2018 of multiple organ failure at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei.

The TIER’s top position had been vacant since his death.

Wang, who is currently chairman of CTBC Venture Capital, a subsidiary of CTBC Financial Holding Co., was chosen by TIER’s board of directors in a meeting held Friday.
[FULL  STORY]

Acer Inc bullish on gaming revenue

ENTERPRISE SEGMENT: The company plans to expand its sales channels to reach more small and medium-sized businesses, and deepen relations with large organizations

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 19, 2019
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

PC maker Acer Inc (宏碁) expects to maintain its strong position in Asian markets this year

A model holds the latest model in Acer Inc’s Swift notebook series, the Swift 7, which is 8.98mm thick and weighs 1.1kg, at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.  Photo: CNA

despite rising headwinds, a company executive said yesterday.

Annual growth momentum of the global PC gaming market is not expected to continue at last year’s pace of between 30 and 40 percent, but rather drop to little more than 10 percent this year, Acer Asia-Pacific regional president Andrew Hou (侯知遠) was quoted as saying in a report by the Central News Agency (CNA).

Ongoing shortages of Intel Corp processors and the US-China trade dispute would continue to drag on growth, while the gaming segment would see heightened competition as rival gaming brands offer more complete product lines, Hou said.

Acer, which saw revenue contribution from its global gaming division rise 70 percent year-on-year last year, expects the lucrative segment to grow 50 percent this year, backed by the brand’s growing strength among gamers, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

U.S. dollar closes higher on Taipei forex market

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/17
By: Frances Huang
Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) The U.S. dollar rose against the Taiwan dollar Thursday, gaining NT$0.021 to close at NT$30.852.

Turnover totaled US$591 million during the trading session.

The greenback opened at NT$30.839, and moved between NT$30.813 and NT$30.853 before the close.     [SOURCE]

FSC easing rules for banks’ low-risk clients

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 18, 2019
By: Kao Shih-ching  /  Staff reporter

Cash transactions of less than NT$500,000 are to receive less scrutiny and no ID card numbers would be needed for deposits of less than NT$30,000 without a passbook, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday, part of efforts to reduce the burden on low-risk clients amid efforts to combat money laundering.

The FTC would announce new guidelines for low-risk clients before next month, since financial institutions are preparing for heavy transaction volumes before the Lunar New Year holiday that starts on Feb. 4, commission Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said.

Koo made the remarks after he accompanied Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) to the headquarters of state-run Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行) in Taipei to learn about its measures to combat money laundering.

Although 90 percent of local banks’ clients pose a low risk of money laundering, bank clerks tend to treat all transactions as suspicious and apply the same measures to everyone, Koo said.    [FULL  STORY]

TSMC strikes cautious tone on Q1 after posting record annual profit

Formosa News
Date: 2019/01/17

Today Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced after-tax profits of NT$351.1 billion Taiwan dollars and earnings per share of NT$13.54 for the year 2018. Both figures are new company highs, but TSMC gave a cautious outlook for the first quarter of 2019.

Chief Executive CC Wei said the firm could miss its usual target of 5 to 10 percent growth year-on-year . Analysts expect the sluggish semiconductor market, weak smartphone sales, and the U.S.-China trade war to negatively affect TSMC’s bottom line in the months ahead.   [SOURCE]

New Taiwan airline targets transit passengers between U.S. and Southeast Asia

StarLux Airlines to start flying early next year

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/16
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

StarLux Airlines aims for transit passengers (image courtesy of StarLux Airlines).

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – StarLux Airlines (星宇航空) will target passengers traveling between the United States and Southeast Asia, as right now too few of them transit in Taiwan, company founder Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) told the media Wednesday.

Chang set up StarLux, which is expected to start flying early next year, after leaving the Evergreen Group and EVA Air following the death of his father, transportation tycoon Chang Yung-fa (張榮發) in 2016.

In his interview, Chang emphasized that StarLux would fly to every U.S. destination where EVA was present, the Central News Agency reported. EVA currently operates services to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Chicago and New York.

Only 10 percent of passengers transit at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, an unfavorable comparison to Hong Kong and Singapore, where up to 30 percent of travelers are in transit, Chang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Formosa Plastics to give year-end bonus of 5.83 months’ salary

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/16
By: Wei Shu and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 16 (CNA) The Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), one of the leading conglomerates in Taiwan, will hand out year-end bonuses of 5.83 months’ salary to its employees, one of its labor unions said Tuesday.

In addition, each worker will receive a gift of NT$15,000 (US$487) ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts Feb. 2, the union said.

Wu Chi-chung (吳祈忠), head of the worker’s union of Nan Ya Plastics Corp., said the year-end bonus was decided in an agreement between FPG President Wang Wen-yuan (王文淵) and the workers’ unions of the FPG subsidiaries after more than one hour of discussions on Tuesday.

The year-end bonus plus the cash gift will amount to almost six months’ salary for most employees, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Solar PV market to grow 7.7%: report

GROWTH TRACK: The global industry is expected to become healthier and more stable in the long run after consolidation last year, researcher TrendForce said

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 17, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

The global solar photovoltaic (PV) market is likely to grow 7.7 percent to a record high again this year, supported by new government incentives and lower solar prices, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday.

Overall, new grid-connected PV capacity is to climb to 133 gigawatts from 103 gigawatts last year, the Taipei-based researcher said in a report.

The EU would be one of the fastest-growing markets this year, with demand surging more than 50 percent annually, it said.

Emerging countries in Southeast Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and Latin America would also gain steam, rising 50 percent, it said.    [FULL  STORY]

ZEV launches Taiwan’s first Tesla taxi service

ZEV hopes to be carbon neutral by 2021

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/15
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwanese startup Zero-Emission Venture (ZEV) will formally launch Taiwan’s first fully-electric taxi service tomorrow (Jan. 16).

ZEV currently has 20 Tesla S and X model vehicles at the ready, which will be initially used to transport passengers to and from Taoyuan airport, before expanding throughout northern and western Taiwan.

ZEV, formerly known as 0Taxi, believe that Taiwan and the world more broadly is reaching a tipping point where electric vehicles become the norm, and the company hopes to be carbon neutral by 2021 through the use of green energy.

At the launch event in Taipei today, ZEV Founder and CEO Jerry Wang (王日新) said that the company’s fleet will be 100 percent electric, and that they aim to be pioneers of electric taxis in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

III to ban access to internal network using Huawei devices

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/15
By: Chung Jung-feng and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) The Institute for Information Industry (III), a government-sponsored high-tech research group, said Tuesday it will prohibit users of devices made by China-based Huawei Technologies Co., such as smartphones and notebook computers, from accessing its internal network.

Speaking to CNA, the III said the ban seeks to improve information security at the institution.

The III is the second institution to announce such a ban after the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), another government-sponsored research group made public Monday a similar ban that came into effect Tuesday noon.

However, the III did not disclose when its measure would be introduced.    [FULL  STORY]