Business and Finance

Stock rally boosts consumer confidence

NO BLACK SWANS: The index on consumer prices saw only a negligible increase, which might be a sign of public dissatisfaction with stagnant wages, a statistician said

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 30, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The consumer confidence index (CCI) this month picked up with six constituent gauges all moving upward on the back of a stock rally that saw the TAIEX hold firmly above 11,000 points, a National Central University (NCU) survey released yesterday showed.

The CCI climbed to 87.69 this month, a 1.64 point gain from last month and the highest in 28 months, as stock investment interest soared to the highest level in nearly three years, NCU Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development director Dachrahn Wu (吳大任) said.

“The confidence figure reflects improvement in popular sentiment led by the strong bourse,” Wu told a news conference.

The sub-index on stock investment registered 109.7, the second-highest level in the history of the survey, as foreign and local investors increased holdings in local shares after returning from the New Year holiday, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
[FULL  STORY]

Housing transactions in Taiwan made a rebound in 2017 after 3-year slump

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/01/28
By:  Central News Agency

TAIPEI (CNA) — Transactions of residential and commercial property in Taiwan staged a

(By Central News Agency)

rebound in 2017, ending three straight years of declines, according to the Ministry of the Interior (MOI).

After transactions of homes, offices and shops in Taiwan dipped to an all-time low in 2016, sales in 2017 rose 8 percent year-on-year to 266,086 units, according to data from the ministry, which started tallying property transaction figures in 1991.

Tseng Ching-der (曾敬德), a research manager with Sinyi Realty Inc., said the rebound showed the property market has stabilized after the gloomy performance in 2016.

Analysts said the rebound was driven by sellers cutting prices to spur activity after the low level of transactions in 2016.    [FULL  STORY]

CPC keeps fuel prices unchanged for next week

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/28
By: Chu Tze-wei and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 28 (CNA) State-run oil refiner CPC Corp. Taiwan will maintain its gasoline

CNA file photo

and diesel prices unchanged for next week, ending six consecutive weeks of fuel price increases, the company said Sunday.

The reference prices at CPC gas stations around the nation in the coming week will remain at NT$25.1 per liter for super diesel, NT$27.2 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$28.7 per liter for 95 unleaded and NT$30.7 per liter for 98 unleaded.

CPC said it kept prices unchanged because international crude oil prices rose only marginally higher in U.S. dollar terms this week, as the impact of oil inventories falling in the United States for a 10th straight week was largely offset by the reopening of the As-Sarah oil field in Libya.

That slight rise was further negated in Taiwan by the appreciation of the Taiwan dollar this past week, the company said.    [FULL  STORY]

SPIL net profit slumps on liabilities

NEW SUBSIDIARY: The company said that its shares would be delisted from the local bourse and NASDAQ if a share exchange deal with ASE is approved by its shareholders

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 29, 2018
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

Siliconware Precision Industries Co Ltd (SPIL, 矽品精密), the world’s third-largest chip packager and tester, on Friday reported a 47 percent annual decline in net profit for last quarter, eroded by a spike in financial liabilities.

Net profit plummeted to NT$1.49 billion (US$51.2 million) in the final quarter of last year, from NT$2.83 billion a year earlier.

On a quarterly basis, net profit dipped 34 percent from NT$2.26 billion.

Earnings per share were NT$0.48 in the quarter, the company said in a statement.

The poor performance was due to declining revenue last quarter amid falling prices, a strong New Taiwan dollar and a weaker product mix, SPIL said, adding that a loss of NT$463 million in the fair-value adjustment of its convertible bonds also squeezed its profits.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan lawmakers express support for Central Bank frontrunner

Deputy Governor Yang Chin-long would signify stability: legislators

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/27
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Legislators from all sides of the political spectrum on Saturday

Central Bank Deputy Governor Yang Chin-long. (By Central News Agency)

expressed approval for the likely choice of Deputy Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) to take over as head of the Central Bank next month.

While the nomination had not been officially announced yet, local media reported it was virtually certain that Yang, an expert who joined the bank almost three decades ago, would succeed incumbent Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) when he retires on February 25 after 20 years on the job.

Even lawmakers from the opposition had praise for the eventual selection of Yang. The new governor will continue his predecessor’s policy of stabilizing foreign exchange and interest rates, Kuomintang legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) told the Central News Agency. He also described the choice as staying away from politics and ideology.

Another KMT lawmaker, former Financial Supervisory Commission Minister William Tseng (曾銘宗), pointed out that Yang had been Perng’s deputy for about a decade, meaning he was experienced and knew how to tackle problems.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan mulling change to get more startups into science parks

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/27
By: Elaine Hou and Christie Chen

Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) The Executive Yuan is considering a legal revision that would

CNA file photo

open the way for more startup companies to set up operations in science parks in Taiwan and strengthen the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s tech industry.

The Executive Yuan is reviewing an amendment proposed by the Ministry of Science and Technology that relaxes restrictions on the types of companies that can operate in science parks, Minister without Portfolio Wu Tsung-Tsong (吳政忠) told CNA on Saturday.

Under the current Act for Establishment and Administration of Science Parks, only companies limited by shares can be set up in the parks.    [FULL  STORY]

US$400m NEM loss spooks investors

SHADOW OF MT. GOX: Crypto-friendly Japan is not likely to impose an extensive clampdown, but it will be interesting to view its regulatory response, an analyst said

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 28, 2018
By: Bloomberg

The disclosure that one of Japan’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges lost about US$400 million in NEM tokens is spooking investors in a nation still wary of such venues four years after the collapse of Mt. Gox.

After hours of speculation on Friday night, Coincheck Inc said the coins were sent “illicitly” outside the venue.

Cofounder Yusuke Otsuka said the company did not know how the 500 million tokens went missing, and the firm is working to ensure the safety of all client assets.

Coincheck said earlier it had suspended all withdrawals, halted trading in all tokens except bitcoin, and stopped deposits into NEM coins.    [FULL  STORY]

TSMC breaks ground on 5-nanometer chip factory in Southern Taiwan

Fab 18 will create 4,000 jobs: TSMC

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/26
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (台積電), the world’s

TSMC breaking ground on its Fab 18 near Tainan. (By Central News Agency)

top contract chipmaker, broke ground on its Fab 18 for 5-nanometer chips in Tainan Friday.

Chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀), who plans to retire later this year, said the plan would start production in 2020, with total investment in 5-nanometer reaching NT$700 billion (US$24 billion) for all similar factories in Tainan and Hsinchu.

Work on the second phase of the factory would begin during the third quarter of the year, with production also starting in 2020, the Central News Agency reported. A third phase was slated to start construction next year, with chip production possible in 2021.

With all phases completed, production in 2022 could reach more than 1 million 12-inch wafers, TSMC said.    [FULL  STORY]

Index signals sluggish growth for Taiwan’s economy in December

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/26
By: Cheng Cheng-wei and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) Taiwan’s economy flashed a “yellow-blue” light in December, signaling sluggish growth, but the steady rise of an index of leading indicators showed the economy was still headed in the right direction, the National Development Council (NDC) said Friday.

The NDC said the composite index of monitoring indicators for December fell one point from November to 22, the high end of the 17 to 22 range for the yellow-blue light.

The index had previously flashed three “green” lights in a row, representing steady growth. It originally recorded a 22 in November, but was revised upward by one point to 23 to fall within the green light range on revised data for sales in the manufacturing sector.

The NDC uses a five-color system to gauge the country’s economic performance, with blue indicating economic recession, yellow-blue representing economic sluggishness, green denoting stable growth, yellow-red referring to a warming economy and red pointing to economic overheating.    [FULL  STORY]

Compal eyes growth on ‘smart’ devices demand

ONE-STOP SHOP: Compal is confident it can transfer its notebook-assembly know-how to the desktop computer market and this year plans to explore its segment options

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 27, 2018
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) aims to grow its non-PC shipments by about 30 percent to 51 million units this year, driven by increasing orders for the Apple Watch series and Android-based smartwatches, a company executive said yesterday.

The revenue contribution from non-PC products is estimated to climb to 35 percent from last year’s 31 percent, Compal president Ray Chen (陳瑞聰) said.

“We expect huge growth momentum from the smartwatch business this year, after we added a new client last year,” Chen told a media conference ahead of the company’s annual banquet for employees at the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei.

Compal secured some orders for Apple Inc’s first and second-generation smartwatches in the first half of last year, ending Quanta Computer Inc’s (廣達) position as sole assembler for the US company.    [FULL  STORY]