REBOUND: Largan Precision and TSMC led the advance, with the rally spreading almost across the board, except for the glass and electric appliance sub-indices

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 13, 2018
By: Kao Shih-ching  /  Staff reporter

The TAIEX rebounded yesterday, gaining 2.44 percent to close at 10,045.81 points after

slumping 6.3 percent on Wednesday, its worst one-day slide since January 2008.

The weighted index opened 5.47 points higher at 9,811.58 points, but retreated to 9,742.34 points after seven minutes of trading, lower than its close of 9,806.11 on Thursday.

However, it gradually gained ground as sentiment improved, moving past 10,000 points and closing 239.7 points higher on turnover of NT$143.53 billion (US$4.64 billion), Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed.

Except for glass and electric appliances, all sub-indices advanced, the data showed.
[FULL  STORY]

The fundamentals of the Taiwanese economy are still sound: Minister Shen

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/11
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Despite the biggest one-day drop in the history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Economics Minister Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) called on the public to have confidence in the economy, since its fundamentals were still sound.

Following a similar sharp fall on the Dow Jones, Taiwan’s main stock index lost 660.72 points or 6.31 percent to crash through the psychological barrier of 10,000 points to close at 9,806.11 Thursday afternoon.

Yet, looking at domestic demand and investment opportunities, with 35 Taiwanese companies deciding to invest more back in Taiwan due to the trade war between the United States and China, the conclusion must be that the fundamentals are still basically sound, the Liberty Times reported the economics minister as saying.

Just days ago, the International Monetary Fund revised Taiwan’s economic growth figures upward, predicting 2.7 percent for 2018 and 2.4 percent for 2019, Shen pointed out.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/11
By: Tsai Peng-min and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) State-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) said Thursday it is

planning to issue an additional NT$2.9 billion (US$93.21 million) worth of green bonds on the local over-the-counter market (OTC) next month.

Taipower’s green bonds, which have a maturity of five years, are scheduled to be issued from the middle of next month, and the proceeds will be used to develop renewable energy, including offshore wind power, solar energy and hydroelectric power generation projects, Taipower spokesman Hsu Tsao-hua (徐造華) said.

The proposal for the green bond sale has been submitted for approval by the Taipei Exchange, which operates the local OTC market, according to Hsu.    [FULL  STORY]

SHOCK WAVES: The currency’s decline was in line with the TAIEX, which took a dive of 6.31 percent, but was relatively stable compared with other major currencies

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 12, 2018
By: Kao Shih-ching  /  Staff reporter

The New Taiwan dollar continued to slip and hit NT$31.105 versus the US dollar

yesterday, while the central bank seemed unwilling to intervene and stem the local currency’s decline.

The NT dollar shed 0.44 percent in Taipei trading yesterday, reaching its lowest level since Feb. 8 last year, when the local unit traded at 31.128 to the US dollar, central bank data showed.

Turnover totaled US$2.5 billion at Taipei Forex Inc and the smaller Cosmos Forex Inc, the highest level in the past four months, the data showed.

The NT dollar’s depreciation was in line with the TAIEX, which yesterday closed at 9,806.11 — a slump of 6.31 percent and the biggest one-day drop on the local market, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.    [FULL  STORY]

ASE Group to meet growing demand for automotive electronics through Mexico factory expansion

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/10/11
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – ASE Group’s (日月光半導體製造) Chief Operating Officer, Tien

Wu (吳田玉) said the company will increase investment in its Mexico factory, and the company is considering further investment in Taiwan and the U.S., reported CNA.

Wu told CNA the additional investment will help the company cater to growing North American demand for emerging technologies like automotive electronics.

Wu’s comments were made to the media at the opening of ASE’s new test facility in Silicon Valley, California, U.S.

Wu said he is cautiously optimistic about the future of the semiconductor industry, because long-term demand has not changed due to the trade war, reported CNA.
[FULL  STORY]

Coin Desk
Date: Oct 9, 2018
By: Nikhilesh De   

A Taiwanese legislator wants cryptocurrency transactions to abide by the same money laundering laws that govern traditional financial instruments.

To that end, Jason Hsu – sometimes referred to as Taiwan’s “crypto congressman” – has proposed an amendment to the nation’s Money Laundering Control Act to cover cryptocurrencies. Under his proposal, the amendment would include new rules for cryptocurrencies specifically, while also attempting to educate the general public about the nascent technology, according to a press release.

Hsu’s proposal would also bring Taiwan’s laws in line with the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Directive, according to the release.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan is also the only country among the Four Asian Dragons whose economic forecasts have been raised for 2018 and 2019

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/09
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Amid heightened US-China tensions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised Taiwan’s GDP growth forecasts for 2018 and 2019 upward to 2.7% and 2.4% respectively in its latest World Economic Outlook reportissued on Monday.

Despite worries reflected in Taiwan’s stock market, the IMF doesn’t think the disruption triggered by the trade war would kill off growth and drag the global economy into recession: the global growth for 2018-19 is projected to remain steady at its 2017 level, though its pace is less vigorous than projected in its April report. Its forecast for China’s 2018 GDP growth remains unchanged at 6.6%, while revised downward by 0.2 percentage points for 2019 to 6.2%.

Taiwan is also the only country among the Four Asian Dragons whose economic forecasts have been raised for 2018 and 2019, to 2.7% and 2.4%, respectively, in terms of real GDP, up 0.8 and 0.4 percentage points from its previous forecasts in April.

In the latest report, Taiwan’s major trade partner South Korea is projected to grow 2.8% and 2.6% for 2018 and 2019, respectively, downward revisions by 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points from previous forecasts.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/09
By: Chang Chien-chung and Frances Huang

Taipei, Oct. 9 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s

largest contract chipmaker, on Tuesday reported its second highest monthly sales of NT$94.92 billion (US$3.06 billion) in September.

In a statement, TSMC said its consolidated sales in September also represented a 4.2 percent monthly increase and a gain of 7.2 percent from a year earlier.

The September revenue of NT$94.92 billion, the second highest in the company’s history after its NT$103.70 sales in March, was driven by solid demand for chips made on the 7 nanometer process, according the market analysts.

TSMC also reported third-quarter consolidated sales of NT$260.35 billion, which was an 11.6 percent quarterly increase and higher than its estimate of about a 6 percent rise in U.S. dollar terms.    [FULL  STORY]