Business and Finance

Malaysia slaps anti-dumping tariffs on Taiwan steel exporters

Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) will impose anti-dumping tariffs effective for 5 years

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/02/10
By:  Central News Agency

TAIPEI (CNA) — Malaysia has imposed anti-dumping tariffs on steel exporters from

File photo, CNA Image

Taiwan, China, South Korea and Thailand after finding that those exporters sold their products at unfairly low prices in the Malaysian market.

Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said on Thursday that will impose anti-dumping tariffs of up to 111.61 percent on cold-rolled stainless steel (CRSS) exporters from Taiwan and the other three countries, effective for five years, following an investigation into their pricing practices.

The MITI said Royal Malaysian Customs Department would enforce the collection of anti-dumping duties through Feb. 7, 2023.    [FULL  STORY]

Property market flashes ‘blue light’ in January: survey

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/10
By: Wei Shu and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) The local property market flashed a ‘blue light’ in January, pointing to contraction with an index gauging the state of the market falling from the previous month, according to a survey conducted by the real estate magazine My Housing.

The housing index for January dropped 0.4 points from a month earlier to 30.2, indicating the local property market flashed a blue light, with a score under 32 points. The listing of newly completed homes and the amount of property advertisement, two of the six factors in the index moved lower, the magazine said.

It was the second consecutive month the local property market has flashed a blue light, according to the magazine.

Under the system, red indicates overheating, yellow-red shows fast growth, green represents stable growth, yellow-blue signals sluggish growth, and blue indicates contraction.    [FULL  STORY]

Asustek bullish on profitability

‘STABILIZED’: The firm is optimistic about its prospects this year and its dividend is to be maintained at NT$15 despite posting its lowest annual profit since 2010

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 10, 2018
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday said the profitability and shipments of its PC and smartphone businesses are expected to improve this year, after reporting a nearly 20 percent year-on-year decline in net income last year.

“We stabilized our operation in the second half of last year… Our top priority is to maintain profitability and then to seek shipment growth across the board this year,” Asustek chief executive Jerry Shen (沈振來) told an investors’ conference at the company’s headquarters in Taipei.

Shen’s remarks came after Asustek reported net profit of NT$15.54 billion (US$528.45 million) last year, its lowest annual profit since 2010, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.

Earnings per share were NT$20.9, compared with NT$25.9 in 2016.    [FULL  STORY]

AI robotics hub exhibition center opens in Taichung

“This hub will serve as a platform for the future development of the robotics industry,” says an official

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/02/09
By:  Central News Agency

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) The exhibition center of a new robotics hub opened Friday at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) in Taichung, part of an effort to achieve six major goals using the hub as a platform for the robotics industry.

“This hub will serve as a platform for the future development of the robotics industry,” Science and Technology Minister Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said at the official opening ceremony of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Robotics Hub at the CTSP, which was established last year.

According to Chen, his ministry will allocate NT$2 billion (US$6.78 million) to set up several robotics bases at the CTSP and the Southern Taiwan Science Park over a four-year period, with the aim of setting up 50 start-up businesses, attracting 600 teams to base themselves there, training 4,000 workers, producing 45 robotics application programs, accomplishing 30 key technologies/products and creating 1,450 jobs for technical experts.    [FULL  STORY]

TSMC January sales dip to 6-month low

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/09
By: Chang Chien-chung and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said its sales for January fell to a six-month low, with market analysts attributing the fall to the slow season effect.

TSMC said in a statement that it posted NT$79.74 billion (US$2.71 billion) in consolidated sales in January, down 11.3 percent from a month earlier, but up 4.1 percent from a year earlier.

The January revenue was the lowest level since July 2017, when sales stood at NT$71.61 billion, according to data compiled by TSMC.

The latest sales data echoes TSMC’s previous estimate that its sales for the first quarter would be affected by the slow season effect, in particular with demand for mobile devices on the decline.    [FULL  STORY]

Asustek bullish on profitability

‘STABILIZED’: The firm is optimistic about its prospects this year and its dividend is to be maintained at NT$15 despite posting its lowest annual profit since 2010

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 10, 2018
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday said the profitability and shipments of its PC and smartphone businesses are expected to improve this year, after reporting a nearly 20 percent year-on-year decline in net income last year.

“We stabilized our operation in the second half of last year… Our top priority is to maintain profitability and then to seek shipment growth across the board this year,” Asustek chief executive Jerry Shen (沈振來) told an investors’ conference at the company’s headquarters in Taipei.

Shen’s remarks came after Asustek reported net profit of NT$15.54 billion (US$528.45 million) last year, its lowest annual profit since 2010, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.

Earnings per share were NT$20.9, compared with NT$25.9 in 2016.    [FULL  STORY]

I-Mei Foods donates NT$ 5 million to Hualien quake relief

I-Mei Foods donated NT$5 million for Hualien quake relief through the Ministry of Health and Welfare disaster relief account on Thursday

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/08
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—I-Mei Foods Co (義美食品公司) donated NT$ 5 million

I-Mei Foods Co (義美食品公司) Thursday donates NT$5 million for Hualien quake relief (By Taiwan News)

to Hualien quake relief through the Ministry of Health and Welfare disaster relief account on Thursday.

Relief workers, supplies, and foods have poured into Hualien following the 6.0-magnitude earthquake on February 6, and accumulated money donated for the quake relief efforts reportedly reached NT$570 million as of Thursday.

Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said at a press conference on Thursday that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been very concerned about the living conditions of the quake victims at the two shelters in Hualien and the well-being of members of the rescue teams as to whether they have been kept warm and provided with hot foods.    [FULL  STORY]

New rules on foreign professionals take effect

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/08
By: Chen Cheng-wei and William Yen

Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) The Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, which marks a milestone in Taiwan’s recruitment of talent has officially come into effect, according to the National Development Council (NDC) Thursday.

The act relaxes visa, employment, stay and residence regulations for foreign professionals while improving their treatment in the areas of insurance, tax and retirement, according to the NDC.

Lin Chih-mei (林至美), head of the NDC’s department of human resource development said according to the attributes of foreign professionals the new law categorizes them as “Foreign professional,” “Foreign special professional” or “Foreign senior professional.”    [FULL  STORY]

Vanguard expects stable demand for this quarter

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 09, 2018
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) expects sales to remain relatively flat this quarter amid stable customer demand.

Revenue is expected to reach between NT$6.2 billion and NT$6.6 billion (US$211 million and US$224.6 million) this quarter, Vanguard vice president D. L. Tseng (曾棟樑) told an investors’ conference in Taipei.

Compared with NT$6.37 billion last quarter, that would represent a sequential decline of 2.7 percent or a gain of 3.5 percent.

Gross margin is forecast to range between 31 and 33 percent, and operating margin between 20 and 22 percent, Tseng said.    [FULL STORY]

Foxconn announces new U.S. headquarters 

Foxconn parent company to open new HQ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/07
By: Renée Salmonsen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd, which trades on the

Foxconn chairman Terry Gou and Governor Scott Walker announce the U.S. collaboration. (By Central News Agency)

Nasdaq as Foxconn, announced Tuesday the location of a new U.S. headquarters building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The seven-story building purchased from Northwestern Mutual, soon be called Foxconn Place, is located in downtown Milwaukee and can hold 650 people, reported CNA. The headquarters will be used as a training center, accelerator, incubator, and showcase center for Foxconn products, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.

The Republican governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, said that Hon Hai’s decision to open a headquarters in Milwaukee is a sign of the company’s “ever-growing footprint” in Wisconsin.    [FULL  STORY]