BULLISH ON CHINA: The group, which also sells CMC and Mitsubishi vehicles, said it expects to expand its financing business in China, which saw 82% growth last year

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 03, 2018
By: Kuo Chia-erh  /  Staff reporter

Yulon Group (裕隆集團) is aiming to launch two electric cars this year under its Luxgen

Motor Co (納智捷) brand, a company executive said yesterday.

“We believe the two new Luxgen models would be a breath of fresh air [in the local car market],” group chief operating officer Chen Kuo-rong (陳國榮) told a news conference at Yulon headquarters in New Taipei City.

To conquer a share of the emerging electric-car market, Yulon is to set up a new subsidiary responsible for its new-energy vehicle business in Hangzhou, China, by the end of the year, the group said.

This year also marks the group’s first year of its “510” plan for Luxgen, under which it aims to introduce 10 new Luxgen models over the next five years, Chen said.
[FULL  STORY]

Frugal consumers should not see any hikes: MOEA

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/03/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – There will be no hike in electricity rates until April at the earliest,

and special considerations are expected for frugal consumers and small businesses, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Thursday.

Recent plans for price hikes for toilet paper triggered hoarding and local shortages, which made international headlines, leading to fears of galloping inflation.

There were no plans to make tap water more expensive, and any rise in the price of power would have to wait until a relevant committee meeting in April, the MOEA said.

Even if there was a decision in favor of a hike, it would not exceed 3 percent, the Central News Agency reported. Consumers who used less than 330 kilowatt-hours a month would see no increase, while a special approach would be taken for small businesses in order to prevent rising inflation, according to the MOEA.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/01
By: Liao Yu-yang and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, March 1 (CNA) Trade remedy measures introduced in a recent report highlighting

the U.S. administration’s trade policy priorities have caused a distortion in global trade, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Thursday.

The measures include several anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations against products from Taiwan, which have impacted Taiwan’s exports to the United States, the ministry said.

In its “2018 Trade Policy Agenda and 2017 Annual Report” filed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) a day earlier, the U.S. administration expresses concern about Taiwan’s agricultural policies, which it says “are not based upon science.”

In the document, the USTR highlights a request that Taiwan lift its partial ban on imports of U.S. beef and pork, including pork containing residue of the leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine.    [FULL  STORY]

GLOBAL REACH: The apparel maker expects to secure more orders from the US either by collaborating with local firms or setting up factories in Africa and Central America

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 02, 2018
By: Kuo Chia-erh  /  Staff reporter

Apparel maker Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽) is expanding capacity in Africa and Central

America to reach more brand customers, a company executive said yesterday.

“This year, we plan to outsource manufacturing to Lesotho through collaboration with some manufacturers there,” chairman Frank Chou (周理平) told a news conference in Taipei.

The company is also considering setting up its own plants in Africa, Chou said, adding that it would send a team to the continent to evaluate the possibility of further expanding its presence there.

Makalot expects to secure more orders from US clients through the expansion project, he said, citing lower labor costs and possibly zero tariffs due to some African nations’ trade agreements with the US.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/02/28
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, Feb. 28 (CNA) Taiwan-based Asustek Computer Inc. has unveiled its first

smartphone models with artificial intelligence functions on at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 being held in Barcelona.

Asustek Chief Executive Officer Jerry Shen introduced its latest flagship smartphones — the ZenFone 5 series — at a news conference on Wednesday at the MWC, one of the world’s largest mobile technology shows.

The newest ZenFone 5 series includes the ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 5Z, which boast AI technology and are equipped with an edge-to-edge 6.2-inch screen and a dual lens camera, according to Asustek.

Smartphones and AI are among the major themes featured at the 2018 MWC. The others are virtual reality, augmented reality, the Internet of Things and 5G technology.
Asustek touted in particular its more sophisticated ZenFone 5Z, which is powered by Qualcomm Inc.’s newest processor — the Snapdragon 845 — to strengthen the device’s computing power. It has up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, according to the company.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/28
By: Yu Hsiao-han and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Feb. 28 (CNA) The recently revised Labor Standards Act will go into effect

Thursday making work rules more flexible in response to demands made by employers over the past year.

Under the revised labor law, which was approved by the Legislative Yuan on Jan. 10 and promulgated by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Jan. 31, employees can be asked to work 12 days in a row and work shifts with only eight hours of rest in between, but enterprises must first secure approval from related government agencies and their employees.

That compares with existing rules that prohibit employees from working more than six days in a row and require a period of at least 11 hours between shifts.    [FULL  STORY]