Business and Finance

Industrial production falls on tensions

TALL ORDER: Next year’s industrial output figures would be challenged by this year’s performance, which set a high comparison base by bucking cyclical trends

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 25, 2018
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s industrial production last month declined from the previous month due to US-China trade tensions, but rose on an annual basis thanks to peaking global demand, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

Industrial output last month fell 4.42 percent from the previous month.

However, indices tracking the nation’s industrial production rose 2.09 percent from a year earlier to 111.3. Still, the annual expansion was lower than the previous month’s 8.32 percent, Department of Statistics data showed.

The output of the manufacturing sector, which accounts for more than 90 percent of total industrial production, dropped 4.35 percent monthly, but rose 2.23 percent annually.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s jobless rate falls to 3.70% in November

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/23
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang,Central News Agency

Commuters at MRT Taipei City Hall (By Wikimedia Commons)

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) Unemployment in Taiwan fell to 3.70 percent in November, pointing to a stable job market, government statistics showed Saturday.

According to data compiled by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), the November unemployment rate fell 0.05 percentage points from a month earlier.

Year-on-year the November jobless rate dropped 0.01 percentage points, the DGBAS said.

The latest jobless rate was the lowest for November in 18 years, the DGBAS said.
[FULL  STORY]

Domestic fuel prices to fall to 14-month low this week

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/23
By: Chiu Po-sheng, Jeffrey Wu and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) Domestic gasoline and diesel prices will fall by NT$0.9

CNA file photo

(US$0.029) per liter this week to their lowest for nearly 14 months, due to a fall in international crude oil prices last week, Taiwan’s two major gasoline and diesel suppliers announced Sunday.

State-owned oil refiner CPC Corp., Taiwan said that after the adjustment, which will take effect at midnight Sunday, fuel prices at CPC gas stations nationwide will be NT$25.4 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$26.9 per liter for 95 unleaded, NT$28.9 per liter for 98 unleaded and NT$23.2 per liter for super diesel.

The previous lowest prices were registered Nov. 5, 2017 , when the price was NT$25.3 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$26.8 per liter for 95 unleaded, NT$28.8 per liter for 98 unleaded and NT$23.0 per liter for super diesel.

The latest drop is due to a plunge in global crude oil prices this past week after the U.S. stock market suffered its worst week in two years, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates and lower-than-expected world oil demand growth, CPC said.
[FULL  STORY]

FSC proposes Insurance Act changes

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 24, 2018
By: Kao Shih-ching  /  Staff reporter

Insured people would be obliged to inform insurance companies about any health problems they have, according to a draft amendment to the Insurance Act (保險法) that was proposed last week, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said on Thursday.

At present, only policyholders have the duty of disclosure, but they might not lly understand the health conditions of the insured, and that is one of the reasons disputes occur, Insurance Bureau Deputy Director-General Wang Li-hui (王麗惠) said at a meeting in New Taipei City.

Under Article 127 of the act, insurance companies are not liable for any of an insured person’s illnesses that existed before signing a contract, so companies could deny insurance payments when they have doubts over the information provided by policyholders, she said.

“The amendment is not intended to protect the insurers, but to benefit the insured and insurers, as it aims to reduce disputes,” Wang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Trend Micro issues 3 warnings for web security in 2019

Newer forms of hacking will grow during the new year

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/22
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Various forms of hacking will only get worse in 2019, says Trend Micro. (By Associated Press)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Tokyo-based software specialist Trend Micro issued three warnings Saturday about priorities for cyber security in 2019.

The leaking of credential information such as passwords and e-mail addresses and their use in scams would continue to increase, while phishing attacks would overtake hacking through loopholes and the safety of industrial control systems would continue to face rising threats, the Central News Agency reported.

“Credential stuffing” was a method involving a Botnet army to use leaked e-mail addresses and passwords to mount a persistent attack trying to enter popular websites, according to Trend Micro.

Netizens using the same password for different web sites played a key role in the growth of the practice, CNA reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s cellphone exports plummet more than 70% in 11 month period

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/22
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang 

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) In the first 11 months of this year Taiwan’s cellphone exports fell more than 70 percent from the previous year, amid escalating competition in the global market, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

Data compiled by the ministry showed exports of Taiwan-made cellphones — smartphones and feature phones — totaled US$400 million in the 11 month period, down 71.9 percent from a year earlier. The MOF said the decline was the steepest ever seen by the domestic cellphone industry.

The ministry noted that Taiwan’s cellphone exports hit a peak of US$10.6 billion in 2011.

The MOF data also showed that led by strong cellphone exports, Taiwan’s export of internet/communication devices hit a high of US$16.9 billion in 2011, accounting for 5.4 percent of the country’s total exports that year, the data indicated.
[FULL  STORY]

Hon Hai to build chip plant in China

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 23, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), is in talks to build a US$9 billion chip plant in Zhuhai, Guangdon Province, China, Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review reported on Friday.

Hon Hai, a major iPhone assembler for Apple Inc, plans to start the construction as early as 2020, with most of the investment expected to be subsidized by the Zhuhai city government, the report said, quoting people familiar with the matter.

The Taiwanese company is expected to join in the venture with the city government and its subsidiary, Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp, it added.

The plant would produce chipsets for ultra-high-definition 8K TVs and camera image sensors, as well as sensor chips for connected devices and industrial use, hoping eventually to produce advanced chips for robotics and autonomous vehicles, the report said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan should turn into an Asia Pacific R&D center

Developing R&D should be the way forward to benefit from the U.S.-China trade war: MIC

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/21
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwanese companies should return from China to set up R&D centers in Taiwan. (By Central News Agency)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – As the trade war between the United States and China is likely to last some time, countries like Taiwan should try to benefit from the dispute by welcoming companies moving out of China and establish an Asia Pacific research and development center, the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (MIC) said Thursday.

The government has been encouraging Taiwanese companies active in China to refocus their efforts on the home country in order to avoid punitive tariffs amid the trade war.

Since international organizations have lauded Taiwanese businesses for their creativity and their research, the best thing they can do would be to return to Taiwan and set up R&D centers there, at the same time providing job opportunities to highly educated graduates, the Liberty Times reported.

In addition to developing new ideas, the companies could also use Taiwan as a test market for their products, and once they were successful, export them to China and the rest of East Asia and the Pacific, MIC officials said.    [FULL  STORY]

Hon Hai reportedly in talks to build US$9 billion chip plant in China

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/12/21
By: Christie Chen and Chung Jung-feng 

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., known internationally as Foxconn, is in talks to build a US$9 billion chip plant in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review reported Friday.

The iPhone assembler plans to start the construction as early as 2020, with most of the investment expected to be subsidized by the Zhuhai government, the Nikkei report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Hon Hai is expected to form a joint venture for the project with its subsidiary — Japanese electronics maker Sharp — and the Zhuhai government, Nikkei cited an industry source as saying.    [FULL  STORY]

Trade poses risks to GDP growth: ANZ

SENSITIVE EXPORTS: The bank said uncertainty over the trade outlook would extend into next year, despite the agreement between the presidents of the US and China

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 22, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

GDP might grow at a slower 2.4 percent next year, as US-China trade tensions could evolve into a major disruptor of global electronic supply chains, posing downside risks to growth, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) said yesterday.

The trade issue is a key determinant of growth outlook, because the nation is an integral part of the global supply chain, which includes major economies such as the US and China, ANZ said.

About 48 percent of orders received by local manufacturers are produced in China, including Hong Kong, and the export outlook is sensitive to developments, ANZ said.

Although US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) have agreed to delay new tariffs, uncertainty surrounding the trade outlook would extend into next year, it said.    [FULL  STORY]