Business and Finance

Taiwan orchid show garners record export orders this year

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/09
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Ko Lin

Taipei, April 9 (CNA) This year’s Taiwan International Orchid Show has received the most

Photo courtesy of Tainan City government

export orders in the event’s 14-year history, the Tainan City government said Monday.

Export orders worth roughly NT$10.9 billion (US$372 million) over a five-year period for horticultural products were booked at the show, held in Tainan from March 2 to 12, the city government said in a statement.

There were also NT$16.95 million in flowers and NT$5 million in souvenirs sold at the event, the statement said.
[FULL  STORY]

March exports hit record US$30bn

SUSTAINABLE? Electronic parts accounted for 35.2 percent of shipments. The Department of Statistics director-general said that the US-China trade war ‘poses the biggest uncertainty’

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 10, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s exports regained traction last month, rising 16.7 percent from a year earlier to a record US$30 billion, driven by strong demand for high-performance chips, cryptocurrency mining and artificial intelligence applications, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

Inventory rebuilding among major Chinese smartphone brands also lent support and deepened Taiwan’s trade dependence on the market to a record 44.8 percent, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said.

“The robust showing could sustain this quarter amid continued global economic expansion, while the trade war between the US and China poses the biggest uncertainty,” Tsai told a media briefing.

The two big economies bought 55 percent of shipments from Taiwan, which is home to the world’s largest electronics suppliers, the ministry’s report said.    [FULL  STORY]

Talent-recruiting tour in the U.S. receives warm welcome: ministry

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/08
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, April 8 (CNA) A delegation led by Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-

CNA file photo

gee (陳良基) to recruit overseas Taiwanese and foreign talent for local scientific research and university positions concluded its four-city tour of the United States on Saturday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Science and Technology Sunday.

The seminars held to tout the talent recruiting incentives — Young Scholar Fellowship Program and Yushan Project — in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston from April 1 to April 7, attracted more than 500 participants, the ministry said.

The delegation is composed of principals and vice principals representing 10 top local universities who discussed related issues with attendees of the seminars, it said.
[FULL  STORY]

Earnings season to give markets respite

TESTING TIMES:After a holiday-shortened week when Wall Street slid on fears of a trade war, Taiwan’s markets could test the half-year moving average today, an analyst said
Staff writer

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 09, 2018 
By: Staff Writer

After fears of an escalating trade war between China and the US caused volatility in global markets last week, the local stock market is counting on listed companies’ first-quarter sales reports and business updates to provide some resilience against external uncertainties, analysts said.

In light of a more than 2 percent decline in the three main Wall Street indices last week, the TAIEX might test the half-year moving average of 10,774 points today, when the market resumes trading after a three-day closure for the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday last week, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) quoted Boryi Chien (簡伯儀), a senior manager at Cathay Securities Co (國泰證券), as saying yesterday.

The TAIEX last week ended 0.9 percent lower than the previous week at 10,821.53 points, with an average daily turnover of about NT$109.77 billion, lower than NT$113.23 billion in the preceding week, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.    [FULL  STORY]

Formosa Petrochemical announces fuel price cut for next week

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/07
By: Han Ting-ting and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 7 (CNA) Formosa Petrochemical Corp., a private fuel supplier in Taiwan, said

CNA file photo

Saturday that it has decided to lower domestic gasoline and diesel prices for next week, reflecting worries over global demand at a time of escalating trade friction between Washington and Beijing.

Fears over a trade war between the United States and China sent ripples through global financial markets as well as the energy market, pushing down crude oil prices, which prompted Formosa Petrochemical to announce a NT$0.1 (US$0.003) cut per liter for both gasoline and diesel prices, effective at 1 a.m. Monday.

After the price adjustment, prices at Formosa Petrochemical gas stations island wide will fall to NT$24.3 per liter for super diesel, NT$26.7 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$28.1 per liter for 95 unleaded, and NT$30.2 per liter for 98 unleaded, the company said.

The announcement marked an end to two weeks of rising prices.    [FULL  STORY]

IEK: Taiwan should seek alliance with Europe, U.S. in technology race

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/04/06
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan should forge alliances with the U.S. and Europe in

Image from Pixabay

response to an increasingly heated tech competition between the U.S. and China, Deputy Program Director Ray Yang of Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK) was quoted saying by CNA in a report.

Yang believes recent maneuvers by the U.S. indicate that the U.S. is embarking on a course to block any attempts by China to pursue advanced technology, including the issuing of an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump to block Broadcom’s acquisition bid for chip maker Qualcomm, citing national security concerns.

According to Yang, 5th Generation Wireless Systems (5G), artificial intelligence (AI), and electric vehicles are among the arenas where the two great powers are contending to secure a competitive advantage. Qualcomm, for example, is an American multinational semiconductor company and a leading developer of 5G technology.    [FULL  STORY]

HTC raises wages in April

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/06
By: Jiang Ming-yan and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 6 (CNA) Taiwan-based smartphone brand HTC Corp. has decided to raise wages in a bid to retain its employees despite posting steady losses.

HTC did not disclose details on the wage hike, but it did say all raises would be merit-based and retroactive to January.

Local media reported earlier this week that HTC had raised wages for employees in its virtual reality operation by up to 10 percent, starting from April, to benefit an estimated 1,000 workers in the division.

HTC responded, however, that the latest pay hike was not limited to the VR department.
[FULL  STORY]

Land deals increase during last quarter

ENCOURAGING MOMENTUM: A property analyst said that the trend could suggest a recovery in developers’ confidence, which extends to the superficies rights market

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 07, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Commercial property sales remained weak last quarter, but land deals gained traction as builders and developers built up stocks of land, encouraged by a pickup in housing transactions, analysts said.

Land deals totaled NT$40.3 billion (US$1.38 billion) from January to last month, a 39 percent improvement from a year earlier, while commercial property transactions declined 34 percent to NT$8.8 billion over the period, global real-estate consultancy REPro Knight Frank (瑞普萊坊) said.

The figure for land deals with superficies rights marked the highest since 2010 as local builders and developers sought to make their presence felt in rezoning districts nationwide, said REPro Knight Frank researcher Andy Huang (黃舒衛), who is based in Taipei.

Residential and commercial land deals surged almost 80 percent to NT$32.2 billion last quarter, while industrial lot deals, the main driver over the past few quarters, took a 3 percent downturn to NT$7.3 billion, the consultancy’s quarterly report showed.
[FULL  STORY]

Local biz must plan for long-term U.S.-China trade battle: experts

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/05
By: Chiang Ming-yen and Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, April 5 (CNA) Faced with uncertainty over what could happen in the ongoing trade

CNA file photo

disputes between the United States and China, Taiwan will have to walk a tightrope to minimize possible fallout, analysts said Thursday, suggesting Taiwan’s companies should diversify trade and overseas investment to better cope with long-term fluctuations.

In recent weeks the world’s two largest economies have engaged in tit-for-tat measures over such issues as trade tariffs and intellectual property rights that suggested a looming trade war, Kevin Lin (林成蔭), vice president of the investment consultancy firm Caizischool Co., told CNA.

However, it is still most likely that both sides are using this tactic as a bargaining chip in future talks, Lin said.    [FULL  STORY]

Catcher posts 40% annual sales growth

OPPOSITE TRENDS: The firm forecast resurgent demand for PCs and mobile devices, while lens maker Largan Precision is still suffering from a lull in smartphone demand

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 06, 2018
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Metal casing supplier Catcher Technology Co (可成科技) is optimistic that stronger demand for PC and mobile devices will boost sales this year.

The company yesterday reported that sales last month rose 14.3 percent month-on-month to NT$6.52 billion (US$223.68 million), representing 31 percent growth from the same period last year and setting a new record for March.

Aggregate sales in the first quarter totaled NT$20.41 billion, dipping 37.8 percent from the previous quarter, but still representing 40 percent year-on-year growth.

The first-quarter sales marked the company’s strongest showing yet in the January-to-March period and the first time that the figure exceeded NT$20 billion, Catcher said.
[FULL  STORY]