Business and Finance

Premier: economy recovering with 4 quarters of over 3% growth

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-02

Premier William Lai says that Taiwan’s economy is recovering. It has seen 4 consecutive quarters of over 3% growth. This week, the government’s statistics office announced 3.29% growth for the second quarter.

The first half of the year has seen 3.16% growth. Premier Lai said that this is higher than in 2015 and shows how President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration has led the country to economic recovery. Taiwan’s fundamentals are good and many famous foreign and domestic companies have invested in Taiwan this year. He said Taiwan is on the right path.

Lai said that the government is working on three directions for the economy: progressive basic infrastructure, promoting 5 plus 2 innovative industries, and the New Southbound policy. It is also working on raising wages and lowering taxes and a number of policies to aid the economy.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to aid businesses transferring production bases as US-China trade conflict escalates: MOEA

The government will take a two-pronged approach to mitigate the impact on affected industries

Taiwan News
Dates: 2018/08/02
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – With trade tensions between the U.S. and China escalating,

Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (CNA)

Taiwan will adopt a two-pronged approach to assist affected industries, including efforts to ensure a smooth transfer of their production lines from China back to Taiwan or southward, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said Thursday.

As the U.S. is set to hit US$200 billion-worth of imports from China with a hike in tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent, Shen remarked that Taiwanese businesses whose end market is the U.S. are most likely to bear the brunt of the impact, such as internet and telecommunication services providers, bicycle manufacturers, machinery producers, and petrochemical product suppliers, reported the Liberty Times.

In response to the brewing crisis between the world’s two largest economies, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said it would provide adequate aid to businesses planning to move their production bases back to Taiwan. Shen elaborated that the government will help the businesses address the “five shortages,” namely the lack of water, electricity, land, factories, and talent.    [FULL  STORY]

Shen’ao power plant negotiations still ongoing: minister

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/02
By: Liao Yu-yang and Flor Wang 

Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said Thursday that the government will continue to “negotiate” with residents of Rueifang District in New Taipei to dispel their fears about the planned reopening and expansion of a decommissioned coal-fired power plant in the area.

“Our responsibility is to negotiate, negotiate and negotiate with them, with compassion, before going ahead with the plan,” Shen said at a news conference, when asked about the government’s plans for the controversial Shen’ao Power Plant.

According to local media reports, the Cabinet was considering stopping the expansion work at the plant, pending approval by Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德), after the Presidential Office intervened in the matter due to strong public criticism.

The Presidential Office, meanwhile, denied any interference, saying that the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is responsible for making a decision based on its authority and professionalism.   [FULL  STORY]

Property transactions increase 15%

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 03, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The number of property transactions in the six special municipalities totaled 19,700 units last month, a 15 percent increase from the same period last year and 5 percent more than in June, prompting analysts yesterday to say that the recovery is continuing.

Taipei reported the biggest year-on-year increase at 37 percent, with 2,714 transfers, higher than 2,000 for the third consecutive month, the city government’s Web site said.

Relatively affordable houses in Zhongshan District (中山) and the completion of small apartments underpinned the fast pickup, Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) spokeswoman Charlene Chang (張旭嵐) said.

Small apartments have become popular among home buyers and investors due to their lower entry requirements, Chang said, adding that such properties should continue to dominate the domestic housing market for the foreseeable future.    [FULL  STORY]

Manufacturing and service sector growth slows in July

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-08-01

The steady growth of Taiwan’s manufacturing and service sectors slowed its pace in July. That’s according to the latest figures from the Chung-Hua Institution of Economic Research (CIER), released on Wednesday.

CIER said the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for July fell 2.2 percentage points, down to 56.1%. The indicator for the manufacturing and service sectors shows that they are still expanding, albeit at the slowest pace since February 2017. On the other hand, the non-manufacturing sectors began to shrink in July, indicated by a drop in the Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI).     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to toughen up business secrets act against China

New measures designed to prevent brain drain

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/08/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The government is planning to strengthen legislation in order to

Taiwan wants to toughen up legislation against a brain drain to China. (By Associated Press)

prevent a brain drain to China which could pass business secrets on to the other side of the Taiwan Strait, reports said Wednesday.

The plans by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) are partly a response to a list of 31 measures China has drawn up, apparently to make life easier for talent coming over from Taiwan, the United Daily News reported.

Past experience has shown that key technology experts were more than willing to leave Taiwan and move over to China, and in the process they often took confidential information with them, reports said.

In order to prevent this process from accelerating, the MOEA will toughen up security restrictions. Investigators looking into the theft of confidential business data will also have to make sure they do not accidentally reveal protected information, or they could face similar sanctions as the thieves, reports said.    [FULL  STORY]

CPC increases LPG, natural gas prices

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/01
By: Kuo Hsin-yi and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) The prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural

CNA file photo

gas products supplied by CPC Corp., Taiwan will increase with effect from midnight Wednesday, the company said, citing higher import costs.

It said the price of LPG for household use will increase by NT$1.80 (US$0.059) per kilogram, while LPG for bi-fuel cars will rise by NT$1.00 per kg.

Industrial-grade propane, butane, and propane-butane mixture will also increase by NT$1.80 per kg, the state-run fuel supplier said.

With the hike, households that use two 20-kg cylinders of LPG per month will see an increase of NT$72, while food stands that use 15 20-kg LPG cylinders per month will pay NT$540 more.    [FULL  STORY]

Delta seeking targets for acquisition

PREVENTIVE MEASURES: It is difficult to estimate the full effects of the US-China trade war on the end market, while growing uncertainties are likely to diminish investment

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 02, 2018
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said that it would continue to seek acquisition targets to diversify its production base to mitigate the effects of the escalating US-China trade war.

The company approved a conditional voluntary tender offer through its subsidiary Delta Electronics Int’l (Singapore) Pte to wholly acquire outstanding shares of Delta Electronics (Thailand) Public Co (DET) to bolster its global manufacturing reach and to boost sales in Southeast Asia.

Delta Electronics, which holds a 20.93 percent stake in DET through its Singaporean subsidiary, is looking to spend up to US$2.14 billion to acquire all of the remaining shares in its Thailand-listed associate company at 71 baht per share, representing a 15 percent bid premium.    [FULL  STORY]

Recycling expo charts route to a circular economy

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-07-31

The Taiwan Recycling Tour, a new exhibition on the country’s efforts to achieve a circular economy with zero waste, opened in Taipei on Tuesday.

Twenty years ago this year, the Environmental Protection Administration launched the Recycling Fund Management Board. To mark the anniversary, a new exhibition about recycling in Taiwan has opened in Taipei. The venue is a building constructed for the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition, which incorporated thousands of recycled plastic bottles in its design.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s KKBOX Prime offers ‘Super Entertainment’ package for NT$199 per month

Subscribers can now enjoy music, watch TV dramas and book concert tickets altogether just via KKBOX Prime 

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/07/31
By: Alicia Nguyen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(By Central News Agency)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan-based music streaming software company KKBOX launched a new multi-entertaining package plan called “KKBOX Prime” for NT$199 per month and expected to have 500,000 subscribers by the end of 2019, reports said Tuesday.

On July 31, KKBOX introduced its latest product, KKBOX Prime, which is an integration service of its three separated business models, including music, live, and video businesses, reported CNA.

KKBOX Prime subscribers can now enjoy music from the KKBOX music library of over 45 million tracks, immerse themselves into the universe of TV dramas on KKTV and purchase concert tickets and souvenirs online via KKTIX for just NT$199 per month.

At a press conference Tuesday, KKBOX chairman Li Ming-che (李明哲) said that this integrated service was set up due to a high demand of customer online behaviors at different times. The peak time of music users, which is also the commuting hour, is usually from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Meanwhile, television dramas are frequently watched at noon or after 10 p.m, according to CNA.     [FULL  STORY]