Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/06/22
By:  Central News Agency

Terry Gou, founder and chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world’s

largest multinational contract manufacturer of electronics, vowed Friday not to retire over the next five years and set himself the goal of raising the company’s share price to NT$200 (US$6.6).

“I’m not going to talk about the handover issue now as I will not consider retiring for five years as the company undergoes transformation,” he said at a shareholders’ meeting.

Gou stressed that he is in very good health and promised to do everything in his power to increase the price of Hon Hai shares to NT$200. He apologized for the current evaluation of the shares but reiterated that “he will not consider retiring before the share price reaches NT$200.”

Shares in Hon Hai slid 0.48 percent to finish at NT$82.3 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange Friday — a long way from their historical high of NT$300 on June 21, 2007.
[FULL  STORY]

STABILITY: Hon Hai’s chairman said that he would not retire and there would be no succession planning until a restructuring is completed and the share price hits NT$200

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 23, 2018
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) yesterday

apologized to shareholders for missing last year’s sales growth target and appealed for continued support for the company’s corporate transformation.

Hampered by a strengthening New Taiwan dollar, the world’s biggest contract electronics maker last year posted an 8 percent annual sales gain, falling short of its 10 percent growth target.

The company requires time to carry out its transformation plan, which is centered on achieving early dominance as a provider of the next generation of industrial-grade technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, industrial Internet and cybertechnology, Gou said.

Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城), Gou said that Hon Hai’s industrial AI is vastly different from generalized AI, which is more geared toward consumers.    [FULL  STORY]

Project will emphasize practical AI training

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/06/21
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Technology giant Microsoft is cooperating with three

universities in Taiwan to speed up the training of talent in Artificial Intelligence (AI), reports said Thursday.

As AI develops rapidly, there is an increasing shortage in staff able to meet the demand from business, the Liberty Times reported.

As a result, Microsoft is signing agreements with three universities to help remedy the problem.

While at the beginning of the year, the United States company set up an AI research and development hub in Taiwan, on Wednesday, it announced a training cooperation plan with Asia University in Taichung City.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/21
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Ko Lin

Taipei, June 21 (CNA) The central bank on Thursday adjusted its economic growth forecast for Taiwan this year from 2.58 percent to 2.68 percent, on the back of a recovering local economy and stable labor market.

The increase was due to a better than expected economic performance in the last quarter, the central bank said.

Exports have risen since the beginning of the year and that, combined with strong consumer confidence and a stable labor market, contributed to the increased annual economic growth forecast, according to the central bank.

Although the new pension system for military veterans, which goes into effect July 1, may have a moderate impact on consumer consumption, the central bank said it believes confidence will remain high amid increasing employment, coupled with rising salaries on the labor market.    [FULL  STORY]

SAFE FROM TARIFFS? The chipmaker’s COO said very few of the US tariffs on Chinese goods would target semiconductors, as the US exports more of them than it imports

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 22, 2018
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter, in Kaohsiung

ASE Industrial Holding Co Ltd (ASE, 日月光投控) yesterday said it expects revenue to

grow this quarter and in the next two quarters, thanks to resilient demand from the communications, computer, automotive and consumer electronics sectors.

Based on the company’s capacity and components requested by customers, “we will stick to our forecast that [revenue] will grow quarter-on-quarter during the second, third and fourth quarters,” ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu (吳田玉) told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting in Kaohsiung.

It was the first shareholders’ meeting after the company acquired local peer Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) in April.

“The seasonality is pretty much in line with that in the past, with the strongest growth in the third quarter,” Wu said. “We have a broad customer base. Overall, demand is very healthy. We hope to report good results this year.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/06/20
By:  Central News Agency

If a trade war between the United States and China breaks out, the industrial supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to feel the pinch of the impact resulting from the simmering friction of the top two economies in the world, according to an economist with Bank of China (Hong Kong).

Meanwhile in Taipei, a national security conference presided over by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) discussed the latest trade dispute between the U.S. and China on Wednesday.

According to the conclusion of the conference, Taiwan should come up with appropriate measures to take on a possible restructuring of the industrial supply chain in the wake of the U.S.-China trade tension.

The conference noted that the role of Taiwanese investors in the regional supply chain could change drastically.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/06/20
By: Frances Huang

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan staged a technical rebound Wednesday from

a plunge seen a session earlier as select large-cap stocks in both the electronics and non-high-tech sectors attracted bargain hunting, dealers said.

The gains, however, were limited, as market sentiment remained uneasy over escalating trade tension between the United States and China, as well as lingering concerns over a fund outflow from the country in the wake of weakness of the Taiwan dollar, the dealers said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, or Taiex, closed up 23.25 points, or 0.21 percent, at 10,927.44, after moving between 10,842.56 and 10,969.20, on turnover of NT$178.06 billion (US$5.90 billion).

The market opened up 0.61 points and soon fell into consolidation mode after a 1.65 percent dive a day earlier caused by fear of a possible trade war between Washington and Beijing after the two sides announced that they will impose tariffs on each other’s goods, the dealers said.    [FULL  STORY]