Business and Finance

Delta Electronics Q3 results set record

INVESTORS’ CONFERENCE REPORT: Net profits rose 86 percent from the second quarter, while gross profits were up 23 percent and revenue increased 10 percent

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 31, 2018
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday reported record third-quarter results after the power and thermal solutions provider raised prices.

Net profits rose 86 percent quarterly and 11 percent annually to NT$6.09 billion (US$196.55 million), with revenue of NT$63.62 billion, up 10 percent from the previous quarter and 6 percent higher compared with a year ago. Earnings per share were NT$2.35.

The gains were primarily driven by a rise in passive components sales and higher pricing for power electronics, Delta chairman Yancey Hai (海英俊) told an investors’ conference in Taipei.

Since the end of the first half of the year, Delta has been renegotiating with customers to raise prices by 3 to 5 percent to reflect shortages and rising costs of labor and raw materials, Hai said.    [FULL  STORY]

Foreign investors oversold NT$31.24 billion Oct. 22~Oct. 26, 2018

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/10/29
By:  Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)-TWSE announced today that the securities net oversold position by foreign investors was NT$31.24 billion during the week of Oct. 22~Oct. 26, 2018. This represented the difference between NT$146.12 billion securities bought and NT$177.36 billion securities sold.

The accumulated net oversold position by foreign investors, during the period year to Oct. 26, 2018, was NT$ 308.86 billion. This represented the difference between NT$ 6,901.92 billion securities bought and NT$ 7,210.78 billion securities sold.

The market capitalization of the shareholdings of foreign investors was NT$11,480.93 billion as of Oct. 26, 2018, or 40.34% of the total market capitalization. This is lower (by NT$77.81 billion) than that a week ago.

The 3 securities that reported the highest overbought positions (thousand shares) by foreign investors during the week of Oct. 22~Oct. 26, 2018 were: RADIANT OPTO-ELECTRONICS CORP. 21,467, AU OPTRONICS CORPORATION 21,385, CHINA PETROCHEMICAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION 13,417, respectively.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares close up 0.29% above 9,500 points

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/29
By: Chang Chien-chung and Evelyn Kao 

Taipei, Oct. 29 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan staged a technical rebound led by large-cap electronics and silicon wafer stocks Monday to move above the 9,500-point mark.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), the Taiex, closed up 27.14 points, or 0.29 percent, at 9,516.32, after moving between 9,459.12 and 9,554.35. Turnover totaled NT$105.20 billion (US$3.39 billion).

The market opened up 26.25 points at 9,515.43 after closing below the 9,500-point level for the first time since February 2017 on Friday.

The bellwether electronics sector outperformed the broader market, closing 0.43 percent higher.    [FULL  STORY]

Winbond cautious over business outlook

‘IMPORTANT QUARTERS’: Winbond president Chan Tung-yi said that the firm would closely monitor how inventory adjustments and the domestic market in China pan out

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 30, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Memorychip maker Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電) yesterday expressed caution over its business outlook as demand from China remains soft and uncertainties over the global economy deepen.

The Hsinchu-based company offered the conservative guidance after posting record quarterly net profit for last quarter on the back of non-core operation profits.

Customers are adjusting inventories due to an aberration in seasonality, with relatively strong demand in the second quarter, but disappointing in the third quarter, Winbond president Chan Tung-yi (詹東義) told an investors’ conference.

“We will closely watch how inventory adjustments, China’s domestic market and order placements by major customers pan out,” Chan said, calling the next two to three quarters a critical juncture.    [FULL  STORY]

WeMo scooter-sharing system to expand into New Taipei City next year

WeMo to expand into 2 remaining Taipei City districts this year, then into 4 New Taipei City districts in 2019

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/28
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

WeMo scooters (Image from WeMo Scooter’s Facebook)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Electric scooter-sharing company, WeMo (威摩科技) will expand its operations beyond Taipei City and into four New Taipei City districts next year, reported CNA.

The company is also in talks about exporting its software and hardware overseas in 2019, said WeMo CEO Jeffery Wu (吳昕霈).

WeMo, an app-based scooter sharing system launched in Oct. 2016, will have 3,000 scooters on the road for single-use trips by the end of the year. The service, currently restricted to sections of Taipei City has around 100,000 users.

Once the service is rolled out in the two remaining districts of Taipei City this year, it will be expanded to parts of New Taipei City in the first quarter of next year, said Wu during an event marking the second anniversary of the company. WeMo will first move into Banqiao District, before expanding into Sanchong, Yonghe, and Zhonghe Districts.
[FULL  STORY]

Japan’s StarFlyer launches two new routes to Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/28
By: Wu Jui-chi and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) Japanese airline StarFlyer launched two new international routes between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Japan’s Kitakyshu and Nagoya in a ceremony at the airport Sunday.

StarFlyer, which operates only six domestic scheduled flights in Japan, introduced the new services to capitalize on business opportunities from the booming travel and tourism market in the two countries, said Kenji Ishiyama, head of the carrier’s Taipei branch.

The airline’s Airbus A320-200 aircraft will offer one daily round-trip on each of the two routes, Ishiyama said.

StarFlyer has reduced the number of seats on its Airbus A320-200 fleet from 180 to 150 to enhance passenger comfort by offering a larger seat pitch, according to Ishiyama, who added that each seat has a black leather chair, touch screen and charging sockets.
[SOURCE]

Departure of FII chairman Timothy Chen a surprise

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 29, 2018
By: Chen Cheng-hui  /  Staff reporter

Friday’s announcement that Foxconn Industrial Internet Co Ltd (FII, 富士康工業互連網) chairman Timothy Chen (陳永正) had resigned took many by surprise.

FII, an 85 percent-held subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) that manufactures casing, network equipment and servers, named vice president and general counsel Li Junqi (李軍旗) to replace Chen, according to Hon Hai’s filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Li would serve as chairman until July 9, 2020, Hon Hai said in the filing.

FII did not explain the reasons for Chen’s departure, which came just four months after he helped launch its initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
[FULL  STORY]

2019 budget breaks NT$2 trillion for first time

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-26

The central government budget for next year has been set at a record level, breaking the NT$2 trillion (US$64.5 billion) barrier for the first time. That’s according to Premier William Lai on Friday.

In a report to the Legislature, Lai said spending on public infrastructure would be close to NT$400 billion (US$12.9 billion). Defense spending has been set at NT$346 billion (US$11.15 billion).

The premier said he expects the economy to show steady growth next year, with semiconductors, smart technology and the Internet of Things driving growth and attracting investment.    [SOURCE]

Taiwan, India working to renew investment pact soon: minister

The economics minister said the agreement will boost trade and investment between the two countries

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/26
By:  Central News Agency

The Union Cabinet of India has approved the draft of an updated bilateral investment protection agreement with Taiwan that is expected to be signed by the end of the year, Economics Minister Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said Thursday.

Shen said the agreement will boost trade and investment between the two countries and will cover not only direct investments made by Taiwanese businesses in India but also indirect investments via a third location.

The agreement will also seek to ensure protection for Taiwanese business investments in India, in line with international standards, and the safety and rights of Taiwanese investors, he said.

An agreement on the promotion and protection of investments between the two countries was signed in 2002 but the pact has not been renewed since it came into effect in 2005, Shen said.    [FULL  STORY]

Local economy shows signs of sluggishness in September

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/26
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Frances Huang

Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) Taiwan’s economy showed signs of sluggish growth in September

CNA file photo

as a growing trade war between the United States and China undermined confidence in the business sector, the National Development Council (NDC) said Friday.

The National Development Council’s (NDC) composite index of monitoring indicators fell to 22 points for September, flashing a “yellow-blue” light, down from 24 points in August, when it flashed a “green” light.

The NDC uses a five-color system to gauge the country’s economic performance, with blue indicating economic recession, yellow-blue representing economic sluggishness, green denoting stable growth, yellow-red referring to a warming economy, and red pointing to economic overheating.

Wu Ming-hui (吳明蕙), head of the NDC’s Department of Economic Development, said unfavorable external factors such as the Washington-Beijing dispute have turned the private sector more cautious toward Taiwan’s economic outlook and undermined confidence.    [FULL  STORY]