Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/05
By: Chang Liang-chih and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) Taiwan shares came under heavy pressure in the mid-morning

session Monday as investors took their cue from a dive on Wall Street at the end of last week amid rising fears over higher interest rates in the U.S., dealers said.

Selling focused on large cap stocks such as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the top two stocks on the local market in terms of market value, pushing the broader market below the nearest technical support at 11,068 points, the 20-day moving average, when the market opened, they said.

As of 10:52 a.m., the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange had shed 232.48 points, or 2.09 percent, at 10,893.75 on turnover of NT$72.53 billion (US$2.48 billion).
[FULL  STORY]

OPPORTUNITY: The machinery maker is looking to further overseas expansion by cementing its position in Japan, as well as expanding capacity in South Korea and Italy

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 05, 2018
By: Kuo Chia-erh  /  Staff reporter, in Taichung

Machinery maker Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技), which has set up branches in nine

countries, on Friday said that seeking investment opportunities in Japan would be its top priority this year.

“We are considering purchasing a plot of 7,800 ping [25,785m2] in Kobe, Japan, to build an innovation center, warehouses and ball screw production lines, and to better serve customers there,” Hiwin chairman Eric Chuo (卓永財) said at the company’s annual banquet for staff in Taichung.

Hiwin is also considering building plants in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, he said, adding that the company plans to finalize its decision in the third quarter of this year at the earliest.

The company also aims to cement its position in Japan by acquiring a Japanese machinery maker by the end of this year, Chuo said, adding that in the coming months, Hiwin plans to expand capacity in South Korea and Italy, where it already has subsidiaries.
[FULL  STORY]

Chinese medicine ingredients are increasingly grown in Japan

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/02
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As the demand for Chinese medicine in Japan intensifies,

Japanese manufacturers are increasingly growing the herbs in-island, reported the Nikkei Asian Review.

The increase in demand for Chinese medicine style herbs is thought to correspond with the rise of Japan’s aging society as well as a more “health-conscious younger generation.”

Some Japanese farmers began to grow Chinese herbs when tea prices began to fall while others started as the market expanded.

Tsumara & Co. is the largest manufacturer of traditional Chinese medicine, accounting for over 80% of Japan’s herbal market, according to Nikkei.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/02
By: Tien Yu-pin and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) Car sales in Taiwan for January rose more than 10 percent from a month earlier, with market analysts saying that with the Lunar New Year holiday approaching, strong buying has been sparked.

According to data compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, car sales for January totaled 47,936 units, up 13.6 percent from a month earlier and also up 5.5 percent from a year earlier.

Analysts said the increase in sales also resulted from car manufacturers’ efforts to launch new models to boost buying, while the 2018 Taipei Auto Show, which ran Dec. 30-Jan. 7 also served as a catalyst for consumer interest.

Buying in January followed an increase in sales in 2017, when car sales on the local market totaled 444,469 units, up 1.1 percent from a year earlier, and although the increase was small, sales still hit a 12-year high and beat market expectations.    [FULL  STORY]

GROWTH ENGINE: Cryptocurrency mining and industrial automation are expected to drive demand for specialty DRAM, which contributed 40 percent of total revenue

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 03, 2018
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電), the world’s No. 3 NOR flash memory chip supplier,

yesterday reported that its annual earnings for last year were its highest ever and gave an optimistic outlook for this year on the back of continued robust demand for NOR flash and DRAM products.

Net profit last year ballooned 85.35 percent to a new record of NT$5.82 billion (US$199.1 million), compared with NT$3.14 billion in 2016, company data showed.

Earnings per share were NT$1.54, compared with NT$0.81 in 2016 and the highest in 17 years, the Hsinchu-based company said.

Consolidated revenue last year totaled NT$47.59 billion, up 13.07 percent year-on-year, company data showed.

Winbond attributed the strong results to significant growth in its flash memory products, which exceeded the momentum of its specialty and mobile DRAM.    [FULL  STORY]

Google flagship Pixel smartphones will soon enter the Taiwan market

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/02/01
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Google Pixel smartphones are coming to Taiwan in a few

months, the company’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Rick Osterloh told CNA yesterday (Jan. 31).

The announcement came just one day after a US$1.1 billion dollar deal between Google and HTC was officially finalized. As to whether this will mean Google’s Android flagship phone, the Pixel, will soon go on sale in Taiwan, Osterloh confirmed that the device will soon enter the market.

However, Osterloh said to CNA that as relevant verifications and audits are still ongoing, the exact timing of the product’s release in Taiwan is still undergoing planning and he estimates that it will probably take a few months.    [FULL  STORY]

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The state-run firm is in talks with a local automaker and several foreign firms for the project, which will initially focus on batteries for electric scooters

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

State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said it is in talks with China

Motor Corp (中華汽車), which sells Mitsubishi sedans and its own-brand cars in the local market, to develop its own brand of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).

CPC’s distribution channels — the company has more than 2,000 gas stations across the nation — are a distinct advantage and it provides materials used in lithium-ion batteries, CPC chairman Tai Chein (戴謙) told a news conference in Taipei.

CPC is also in talks with several foreign companies — including Japan-based Panasonic Corp and TDK Corp — over the possibility of further cooperation, company offcials said.    [FULL  STORY]