Thailand’s solar power generation far outstrips that of Taiwan.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/01/04
By: Noah Kittner and Sopitsuda Tongsopit

Households in Bangkok have installed rooftop solar to reduce demand when air conditioning use is at its highest.

This past August, surging air conditioning demand and the accidental shutdown of a natural gas-fired plant led to a blackout that cut power off to 6.6 million customers for a five-hour period, a quarter of Taiwan’s population.

This summer’s blackout creates an opportunity for the Tsai administration to review its national energy and critical infrastructure strategy. The interruption highlights Taiwan’s insufficient generation capacity and inflexible centralized generation architecture that struggles to meet spikes in electricity demand. Given its similarities to Taiwan, the Thai experience may be instructive on how to implement renewables and why energy storage systems would provide much-needed flexibility.    [FULL  STORY]

Canada needs to hit reset on its trade relations with the Asia Pacific

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/04
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan should be included in a new round of talks to form a

Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), according to an op-ed piece in Canada’s Globe and Mail.

Glen Hodgson, a senior fellow at the Conference Board of Canada, says the North American country should “hit the reset button” on its trade with the Asian region to complete the establishment of a free-trade area.

As the Trump Administration withdrew from talks to form a Trans-Pacific Partnership, Canada will have a special advantage to push its exports, in particular beef, fruit and vegetables.

While he wants the country to focus on Japan, South Korea and China, “a number of countries that are attractive markets for Canadian exporters and investors – such as Colombia, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Thailand – could be included in a second round of CPTPP discussions,” Hodgson writes.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/01/04
By Shih Hsiu-chuan

Taipei, Jan. 4 (CNA) Taiwan should step up efforts to strike an agreement with the United

States to prevent taxation of the same income twice in both countries and to enhance bilateral supply chain links, Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Thursday.

Lai made the remarks at a weekly Cabinet meeting after National Development Council (NDC) chief Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) briefed officials on the impacts of the U.S. tax reform on Taiwan, Executive Yuan spokesperson Hsu Kuo- yung (徐國勇) said.

As the sweeping U.S. tax reform gives major breaks to corporations, bigger Taiwanese companies might have to adjust their global deployment by relocating to the U.S., according to the NDC study.    [FULL  STORY]

FiercePharma
Date: Jan 3, 2018
By: Eric Palmer

When Impax CEO Paul Bisaro started cutting costs at the financially struggling drug

company, one move involved the “difficult decision” to let go of its once-troubled manufacturing site in Taiwan. Impax now has a buyer for the facility.

The 400,000 square-foot plant is being sold to Taiwan-based Bora Pharmaceuticals, which will pay Impax $18.5 million. Impax will take a Q4 2017 impairment charge of between $70 million and $80 million on the deal.

Bridgewater, New Jersey-based Impax also struck a supply agreement for Bora to produce some Impax products at the Taiwan facility, most importantly its Parkinson’s drug Rytary. Bora also got rights to sell Rytary in Taiwan. The deal is expected to close this quarter.

“This agreement accelerates the benefits we expect to receive as part of our cost improvement program and allows us to achieve a full run rate of cost savings across all program initiatives by the end of 2018, one year ahead of schedule,” said Bisaro in a statement. “Through this agreement, Impax gains a high-quality contract manufacturing partner with expertise in manufacturing for multinational pharmaceutical companies. The deal also aligns nicely with Bora’s international growth and expansion plans.”
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei City, Chiayi County and Kaohsiung City topped the 2017 evaluation of hotel management among local governments conducted by Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/01/03
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei City, Chiayi County and Kaohsiung City topped the 2017 evaluation of hotel

management among local governments conducted by Taiwan’s Tourism Bur (By Agencies)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taipei City, Chiayi County and Kaohsiung City topped the 2017 evaluation of hotel management among local governments conducted by Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau, according to the evaluation results announced by the agency on Wednesday.

In light of fast development of Taiwan’s hotel industry in recent years, last year a team organized by the Tourism Bureau and consisting of experts and scholars conducted an evaluation of hotel management among local governments in a bid to safeguard consumers’ rights.

Last year’s evaluation focused on local governments’ effort in weeding out illegal hotels as well as inspections. During the evaluation process, some good results have been founds, according to the agency. For example, 99.9% of registered hotels and 99.5% of registered bed and breakfasts had public liability insurances; and more than half of the local governments published illegal hotels, asked hotel booking websites to remove illegal hotels, and cut off illegal hotels’ utilities, the agency said.     [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018/01/03

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) The net fund inflow into Taiwan by foreign institutional investors in

2017 was US$8.6 billion, a total that was dragged down by the outflow in December, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

After a net fund outflow of NT$1.12 billion by foreign institutional investors in December, the total net foreign fund inflow recorded for 2017 was US$8.683 billion, the FSC said.

For the first 11 months of the year, the net outflow was US$9.80 billion, as foreign institutional investors rushed to adjust their equity investment portfolios in December in an effort to book profits by the end of the year.

In November, foreign institutional investors recorded a net fund inflow of US$1.50 billion.
[FULL  STORY]

A person trading NT$50,000 dollars today can get 10,000 more yen than three months ago

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

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Japanese yen today (Jan. 2) hit a two-year low against the Taiwan dollar, opening at 0.2655, with the difference so great now that a person changing NT$50,000 into yen today can get 10,000 more Japanese yen than they would have three months ago.

Continuing the weakening trend, by midday today, the yen had dropped to 0.2653, which means one Taiwan dollar now equals 3.76 Japanese yen, according to the Bank of Taiwan.

In comparison, while NT$50,000 at a rate of 0.281 would have yielded 177,936 yen on Sept. 8 of last year, the same amount of Taiwanese dollars at today’s rate would result in 188,253 yen, an increase of 10,317 yen.     [FULL  STORY]