Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/17
By: Justin Su and Elizabeth Hsu 

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) The Taiwan-ASEAN Business Council (TABC) and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperation in business investment Tuesday in Taipei.

Under the MOU, the two groups will deepen cooperation, promote investment in industries such as intelligent farming, intelligent cities, as well as the development of medical and financial technologies, said TABC Chairman Lu Jih-sheng (盧日勝).

Speaking at the signing ceremony at the Legislative Yuan, Lu touted NU as influential in Indonesia with more than 91 million members and over 12,000 affiliated schools and 50 hospitals. The bilateral collaboration will help the two countries to deepen industrial cooperation, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

The Jinnan rd. post office in Taipei has a ’24-hour self-service station’ where customers to manage their finances online, among other services

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/04/16 
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s very first digital post office was formally launched at the

Jinnan Road Post Office in central Taipei (台北金南郵局), April 16.

The new digital post station allows citizens to manage their post office banking, as well as prepare their parcels for shipping, with digital registration. They can also access email and purchase stamps, boxes and other goods on sale at the post office.

The digital post station is the first of its kind offered by Chunghwa Post, the government owned postal service of Taiwan. CNA reports that Chunghwa is keeping up with the times, as Taiwan continues to develop its digital communication infrastructure, and as Taipei begins its drive to become a “smart-city.”

The office on Jinnan road will offer a 24-hour self-service area that includes an ATM and a computer system to register mail. Additionally, a smart robot assistant is also onsite to help customers navigate the menu of services available.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/16
By: Chen Wei-ting and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Far Eastern Air Transport Corp. (FAT) will soon become the first

Taiwanese carrier to introduce the Boeing 737 MAX8 aircraft to its fleet, with the first two planes planned to be delivered in late 2019, the airline said Monday.

“The 737 MAX will become a cornerstone of our fleet modernization strategy as we look to introduce new next-generation airplanes in the near future,” said FAT President Joseph Lee (李承仲).

FAT plans to obtain a total of 11 737 MAX aircraft over the next five years by leasing two new 737 MAX a year from 2019 to 2022 and the final three in 2023 from a leasing company, Lee said.

The new fuel efficient planes will help the airline meet its goals of driving down operational costs and expanding its regional network, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/15
By: Cheng Chi-fong and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) A groundbreaking ceremony for a factory in Kaohsiung to produce

structural steel foundations for offshore wind farms took place in Hsinta Harbor on Sunday, a new step forward in Taiwan’s development of offshore wind power.

The factory, expected to be completed in 2019, has been designed to produce 50-60 of the foundations, known as jacket substructures, a year when it comes into production, according to China Steel Corp. (CSC), the main investor in the new facility.

CSC’s board of directors passed in late March the proposal to invest NT$3.42 billion to build a facility to manufacture jacket substructures, according to CSC Chairman Wong Chao-tung (翁朝棟).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/14
By: Liao Yu-yang and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 14 (CNA) Taiwan’s manufacturing sector posted year-on-year sales growth for a fifth consecutive quarter in the final quarter of 2017, bolstered by continuing improvement in the global economy, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Taiwanese manufacturers had combined sales of NT$7.53 trillion (US$258 billion) in the fourth quarter of last year, up 6.2 percent from a year earlier, MOEA data showed.

The increase during the October-December period came after electronics component and optoelectronics firms saw their sales hit a quarterly high of NT$2.94 trillion, up 9.4 percent year-on-year, as global electronics brands launched new devices, the MOEA said.

Many Taiwanese tech firms serve as contractors for these foreign brands, and they benefited from consumer replacements of older models during the period, the MOEA said.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/04/14
By:  Central News Agency

Taipei, April 14 (CNA) Private fuel supplier Formosa Petrochemical Corp. has decided to

raise its domestic gasoline and diesel prices for next week after crude oil prices soared more than 8 percent this week amid tensions in the Middle East.

With military conflicts between the U.S.-led coalition and Syria on the rise, West Texas Intermediate jumped 8.6 percent this week in New York, the largest weekly percentage gain since July last year.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, soared 8.2 percent in London.

As a result, Formosa Petrochemical announced Saturday it will raise gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.6 (US$0.021) per liter in the coming week, effective from 1 a.m. Monday.
[FULL  STORY]