Business and Finance

Group touts manufacturing for growth

ECONOMIC DRIVERS: A persistent lack of stable electricity, water, land, labor and talent supply has dampened investment interest in Taiwan, a federation of industries said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 28, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI, 工總) yesterday called on the

Chinese National Federation of Industries chairman William Wong, center, poses for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei yesterday at which he announced the release of the federation’s annual white paper.  Photo: CNA

government to value the nation’s manufacturing industry, as other sectors are not mature or big enough to drive economic growth.

“The US and China have sought to beef up their manufacturers in the pursuit of economic growth, but Taiwan is driving them away,” newly installed CNFI chairman William Wong (王文淵) said at the release of the trade group’s annual position paper.

Wong, also the chairman of the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團), expressed particular frustration over environmental, energy and labor regulations.

FPG, which primarily produces polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins and other intermediate plastic products, has been blamed for poor air quality near its facilities and is waiting for regulatory approval of its capacity expansion plans.    [FULL  STORY]

TIER raises Taiwan’s 2018 GDP forecast

Taiwan showed greater than expected consumption in first half of 2018

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/07/26
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Consumers at Shilin Night Market. (Flickr user: McKay Savage)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) research institute has revised its forecast for Taiwan’s 2018 GDP growth to 2.49 percent, citing robust exports and consumption, at a press conference on July 25 reported CNA.

The revised figure is an increase of 0.04 percent from its previous estimate in April, with the global economic recovery, rising raw material prices, increasing international trade and better than expected domestic consumption cited as positive influences.

TIER is one of Taiwan’s two main economic think tanks, and a leading force of economic analysis for Taiwan and the broader region. The think tank also provides advisory services to government and private industry.

Gordon Sun (孫明德), director of the TIER’s Economic Forecasting Center said that in sum, Taiwan’s first half of the year was better than expected.
[FULL  STORY]

Penghu’s 5th desalination plant to operate by the end of the year

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/25
By: Kuo Hsing-i and CNA intern Chi Jo-yao

Image taken from Pixabay

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan Water Corp. confirmed Tuesday that it expects the fifth desalination plant in Penghu County to be completed by the end of the year, though a government official suggested there was still a hurdle to overcome.

The construction of the desalination plant, initially planned to be completed in May 2018, was later scheduled to be finished by the end of 2018, and that target remains in place, the company said in a statement.

But Public Construction Commission chief Wu Tse-cheng (吳澤成), who was in Penghu on Tuesday to check on the project’s progress, urged Taiwan Water to overcome horizontal directional drilling challenges to complete the plant on time.

The drilling process is needed to install the piping that will draw in ocean water to the plant.   [FULL  STORY]

Financial M&As to face more scrutiny

DEFINING HOSTILE: Only six local financial holding companies and seven banks meet the Financial Supervisory Commission’s requirements to launch hostile takeovers, it said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 26, 2018
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Prospective buyers staging hostile takeovers in the financial sector would face additional checks on their business performances, financial conditions and overseas expansion capabilities, as well as their records in corporate social responsibility initiatives, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.

The decision came after the commission laid out its requirements for merger-and-acquisition (M&A) deals in the sector.

The commission said it plans to finalize its policy on promoting consolidation in the industry by October and to begin accepting applications in November.

Six financial holding companies and seven banks meet the commission’s requirements to launch hostile takeovers, the commission said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan investigates Chunghwa Telecom losses in Vietnam project

Prosecutors suspect fraud involved in US$20 million losses

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/24
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Prosecutors searched homes and offices Tuesday in a case involving losses of US$20 million (NT$614 million) by prominent telecom operator Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) in a project in Vietnam.

In 2015, the telecom company had its Vietnamese affiliate invest in a local power generating project, the Apple Daily reported Tuesday.

However, the investment soon turned sour and the project recorded losses. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office began to suspect that fraud might be involved in the failure by Chunghwa Telecom, according to the Apple Daily.

As a result of several months of reviews, investigators raided eight homes and offices Tuesday involving those of the deputy CEO of the telecom company’s Vietnamese affiliate, a man surnamed Chang (張), reports said.
[FULL  STORY]

CTBC Bank tops banking competitiveness list in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/24
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang 

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) CTBC Bank, the flagship banking entity of CTBC Financial Holding Co., took first place in the latest competitiveness rankings for the local banking sector for 2017, the organizers said Tuesday.

The competitiveness rankings for 2017 were released by the Center for the Study of Banking & Finance (CSBF) under National Taiwan University and the Banking Education Association of Taiwan (BEAT).

CTBC Bank scored 87.81 points, higher than any other bank registered in Taiwan, in the competitiveness evaluation, ahead of King’s Town Bank (86.35 points) and E. Sun Commercial Bank (85.55 points).

In a news conference, Hwang Dar-yeh (黃達業), honorary chairman of the CSBF, said the evaluation, which covered all 38 Taiwanese banks, looked into not only their financial strength but also non-financial factors such as management views of development strategies and expansion overseas.
[FULL  STORY]

Powertech posts robust Q2 net profit

ROSY OUTLOOK: The chip tester and packager sees little impact from the row between UMC and Micron Technology, and expects continued growth as it enters its peak season

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 25, 2018
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

Memorychip tester and packager Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) yesterday reported its strongest quarterly earnings in seven years, aided by growth in flash memory chips and a favorable foreign exchange rate.

Net profit last quarter rose 30 percent to NT$1.68 billion (US$54.69 million) from NT$1.29 billion in the first quarter, the company’s financial statements showed. Earnings per share increased to NT$2.16 from NT$1.66.

Gross margin improved to 21.2 percent last quarter from 20.9 percent in the previous quarter, company data showed.

That re-enforced Powertech’s confidence about revenue growth for the full year, despite potential impact from the patent infringement lawsuits between its major customer, Micron Technology Inc, and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) in China.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s jobless rate for June up slightly

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/23
By: Pan Tsu-yu and Frances Huang 

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) The jobless rate for June rose slightly to 3.70 percent because of an increase in first-time jobseekers as university students graduated, according to government data released on Monday.

The unemployment rate for June rose 0.07 percentage points from a month earlier to 3.70 percent, but was down 0.01 percentage points to 3.68 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, data from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed.

The number of those who were out of work in Taiwan rose 9,000, or 2.12 percent, from a month earlier to 439,000, while the number of people employed was 11.42 million, up 0.06 percent from a month earlier.

The labor participation rate was 58.92 percent, the DGBAS said.    [FULL  STORY]

Industrial production hits all-time high

INDEX: Chemicals bucked the growth trend last month, falling 2.2% year-on-year, while the restaurant and beverage sector grew 8.5%, partly due to the soccer World Cup

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 24, 2018
By: Kuo Chia-erh  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s industrial production index last month edged up 0.36 percent to a record high of 107.81, but at a slower pace than forecast, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

The increase represented the fourth consecutive month of growth, but was less than the ministry’s forecast 3 percent growth.

The index for manufacturing, the pillar of total industrial output, also reached a new high of 107.86 last month, a 0.68 percent increase from June last year.

“The slowing growth could partly be attributed to the lower-than-expected output of integrated circuits, which was last month dragged down by weak sales of smartphones and cryptocurrency mining equipment,” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) told a news conference in Taipei.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei’s Nanxi District owes its tourist appeal to its fusion of old and new, artsy air

It is emerging as another shopping hub in Taipei  

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/22
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Characterized by its fusion of fashion vibes and elements

A clothing store in the alleys of Nanxi district (Photo/Taipei City Government)

evoking nostalgic memories and humanistic traits, Taipei’s Nanxi (南西) Commercial District is poised to become the next tourist magnet of the capital of Taiwan.

With the rise of budget airlines and individual travel, plus the government’s effort to revitalize the west region of Taipei over the past years, the city is seeing a shift of the pop culture center from the east to the west, reported CNA.

Located between MRT Zhongshan and Shuanglian stations, Nanxi district is joining Taipei Railway Station, Dadaocheng, and Ximending to become the most popular spots among foreign tourists.    [FULL  STORY]