Business and Finance

Foxconn to sign deal to set up shop in Maharashtra, India: reports

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou to visit India in August, sign deal to build manufacturing hub in Maharashtra state

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/16
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan electronics giant Foxconn (鴻海) and

Foxconn to finally set up shop in Maharashtra state. (By Central News Agency)

Maharashtra state government are likely to finally sign the deal for a manufacturing hub to be built in the west Indian state next month, according to media reports.

It is believed that Foxconn executives met with Maharashtra government officials on July 4 and a formal agreement may be signed next month, when Foxconn CEO Terry Gou (郭台銘) is set to visit India, reported Economic Times.

The deal is a long time coming, after a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the new factory signed by the two parties in 2015 and Foxconn said it will invest US$5 billion (152.82 billion) in the Maharashtra hub.

The factory will produce components for iPhones, Xiaomi and Nokia products, employing around 50,000 people.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares open lower

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/17
By: Frances Huang 

Taipei, July 17 (CNA) The Taiwan Stock Exchange’s main index opened down 14.70 points at 10,802.75 Tuesday on turnover of NT$1.58 billion (US$51.68 million).     [SOURCE]

Finance minister not a champion of more tax cuts

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 17, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) on his first day in office yesterday said he would pursue a more equitable taxation system and bolster the nation’s financial health without hurting the economy.

Su briefed reporters on his new role as a partial Cabinet reshuffle took effect.

The minister turned a cold shoulder to tax cuts to encourage fund investment or long-term care savings, but voiced support for lowering taxes on warrant and option transactions.

“A stable economy would be meaningless and elusive if it is not based on a fair taxation system and equitable distributions of wealth,” Su told reporters after the handover ceremony.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s ivory ban to enter into force in 2020

Taiwan’s ban on the sale of ivory will take effect on January 1, 2020 to combat the plight of the African elephant

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/15
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

African elephant. (Image courtesy of Pxhere)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau said on July 13 that the ban on the sale of ivory will enter into force in 2020, in a measure to protect African elephants, who are illegally hunted for their tusks, reported CNA.

From January 1 2020, all ivory products will no longer be legally bought and sold, in-line with similar international bans.

Recent years have seen increased momentum towards the absolute ban in ivory sales. The 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2016, was rife with calls for all countries to close their domestic ivory market, in the face of declining African elephant populations.

According to the “African Elephant Status Report 2016” published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the total population of African elephants has decreased from 508,000 in 2006 to 415,000 in 2015.
[FULL  STORY]

Domestic fuel prices to drop this week

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/15
By: Wu Chia-hao and Ko Lin

Taipei, July 15 (CNA) Domestic gasoline and diesel prices will drop by

CNA file photo

NT$0.2 (US$0.0065) and NT$0.3 per liter, respectively, ending two consecutive weeks of price increases, Taiwan’s two major suppliers said Sunday.

State-owned oil refiner CPC Corp. Taiwan said after the adjustments, which take effect at midnight Sunday, prices at CPC gas stations nationwide will be NT$28.9 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$30.4 per liter for 95 unleaded, NT$32.4 per liter for 98 unleaded, and NT$27 per liter for super diesel.

International oil prices fell this week due to fears of an escalating trade war between the United States and China, CPC Corp. said.

CPC Corp. calculates its weekly fuel prices based on a weighted oil price formula made up of 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude, and its average crude oil price for this week was US$74.31 per barrel, down US$1.07 from a week earlier, its website said.    [FULL  STORY]

Ministry, executives discuss tariff war

US-CHINA BRAWL: Manufacturers who ship China-made products to the US might face more adverse effects, the Ministry of Economic Affairs told business representatives

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 16, 2018
By: Staff writer

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has been urged to set up a special task force to help Taiwanese companies manage the impact of the nascent trade war between the US and China.

The ministry should also assist local companies to market their products overseas, while helping them to avoid the illegal transshipment or potential dumping of Chinese goods in the domestic market, business representatives who attended a closed-door meeting with the ministry on Friday last week said.

Some participants said they hoped that the government would help resolve the labor shortage once companies decide to relocate back to Taiwan should the US-China trade dispute remain unresolved, while others said the nation should participate in regional economic integration to lower tariff barriers.

With Washington threatening to impose fresh tariffs on another US$200 billion of Chinese goods on top of the July 6 punitive levy on US$34 billion of Chinese imports, the ministry met with several trade associations and local companies to discuss the potential effects.    [FULL STORY]

Airbus near deal to sell A350s to Taiwan’s StarLux: sources

Reuters
Date: July 15, 2018 
By: Tim Hepher, Editing by Eric M. Johnson

FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) – Airbus (AIR.PA) is close to a deal to

The logo of StarLux Airlines is printed on a backdrop at a launching news conference, in Taipei, Taiwan May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

sell A350 long-haul jets to Taiwanese start-up StarLux Airlines, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The planned airline has selected the Airbus A320neo family to start medium-haul operations, and was reported earlier this year to be looking at 14 larger wide-body Airbus or Boeing (BA.N) jets.

Airbus, which is expected to unveil several orders at this week’s Farnborough Airshow, declined to comment.

The airline, founded with the aim of challenging Asian network carriers by former EVA Airways (2618.TW) chairman Chang Kuo-wei, was not available for comment.

If confirmed, a deal for 14 A350s would be worth about $4 billion at list prices.    [SOURCE]

Malaysian billionaire enters Taiwan wind energy sector with new joint venture

Kerry TJ Logistics and PACC Offshore Services team up for joint venture to provide integrated solutions to Taiwan’s offshore wind market

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/13
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Wind farm. (image courtesy of Pixabay)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Sinaporean offshore marine services company PACC Offshore Services and Taiwan-based logistics company Kerry TJ announced a new joint-venture (JV) company named POSH Kerry Renewables on July 12, in a bid to provide integrated solutions for developers, manufactures and contractors engaged in Taiwan’s offshore wind market.

Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok is a controlling shareholder of PACC Offshore Services and also owns a stake of Kerry TJ. This will be his first venture into Taiwan’s wind energy market.

Taiwan is an ideal location for offshore wind farms and the Taiwan Government’s committed to moving the country away from nuclear power. The government has set a target to increase its renewable energy production to 20 percent by 2025.

To this end, the government has rolled out the welcome mat to attract foreign investment into Taiwan’s renewable industries.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Largan tops Nikkei’s Asia300 list

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/07/13
By: Frances Huang

Taipei, July 13 (CNA) Taiwan-based Largan Precision Co., a supplier of

CNA file photo

smartphone camera lenses to Apple Inc., topped Nikkei’s 2018 Asia300 list of the 325 fastest growing and most valuable companies in the region, excluding Japan.

The Japan-based Nikkei Asian Review, which produced the list, said it used five criteria to get its rankings: average revenue and net profit growth, return on equity, net profit margin, and the ratio of shareholder equity to total assets over the past five years.

In the latest list, TCL Technologies Holding Ltd., an India-based mobile terminal manufacturer and internet service provider came in second, ahead of Indonesian property developer Bumi Serpong Damai, Nikkei said.

Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) tied with Chinese online services provider Tencent Holdings Ltd. to take fourth on the Asia300 list.    [FULL  STORY]

New housing projects surge nearly 40%

UNCERTAINTY: Demand might not be strong enough to digest the sharp rise in presale and newly completed housing in northern Taiwan in the first half, a researcher said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 14, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Presale and newly completed housing projects in northern Taiwan surged nearly 40 percent to NT$561.56 billion (US$18.38 billion) in the first half of this year, a survey by the Chinese-language Housing Monthly showed.

The first-half figure is the highest in four years, ending three straight years of decline for the same period, it said.

The pickup reflected an improvement in sentiment on the part of developers and builders, which sought to take advantage of an apparent recovery, as evidenced by the increase in housing transactions, it said.
[FULL  STORY]