A billion dollar deal disposing of smartphone assets in early 2018 will spur investment in VR tech

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/12/18
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC is riding a wave of good news at the end of 2017, with an extremely promising outlook for 2018.

On Friday Dec. 15, the Investment Commission in Taiwan approved a deal for HTC to dispose of a large portion of its ODM smartphone assets to the IT giant Google, reports CNA.

The company is expected to net about US$1 billion in the deal over the first quarter of 2018, which will help to offset the losses incurred over the past two and a half years.

In response to the approval of the sale to Google, investors on Monday Dec. 18 jumped at the chance to purchase shares of the company, which will further increase the profitability of HTC moving forward in 2018.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/18
By: Liao Yu-yang and Frances Huang

Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) Rules on how the Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Credit

CNA file photo

Guarantee Fund provides loan guarantee have been eased to make it easier for local investment overseas under the government’s New Southbound Policy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Monday.

Starting with immediate effect, local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are eligible to apply for a guarantee from the SME Credit Guarantee Fund when they are planning to raise investment in their overseas subsidiaries in which they own a 20 percent stake, as long as the units are located in 18 countries targeted by the New Southbound Policy and the applicants present documents to show that the investment is critical to their operations.

Before the rules were revised, the threshold stood at 50 percent. The eased rules mean local smaller investors can more easily obtain funds for their investment in the 18 countries under the New Southbound Policy.    [FULL  STORY]

This means that tourists visiting Hualien can now enjoy convenient, secure multiple payment services

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/12/17
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–Starting from autumn 2017, visitors to Hualien County, Taiwan can

A new ‘one device does it all’ system that can handle eight different forms of payment services (Dongdamen Night Market photo from Flickr by Yen(yenli

enjoy using a new type of smart mobile device that handles electronic ticketing, e-wallet payments, credit card payments, etc, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said in a news release on Friday.

Anyone visiting the Dongdamen Night Market, one of Hualien’s best-known tourist attractions, may have noticed that many of the shops and restaurants have started using the new type of smart mobile device, with which consumers can complete their purchase transactions with just one click, and can shop at the night market without having to carry any cash with them, according to the ministry.

A further advantage is that shop and restaurant owners at the night market won’t have to handle money, which is better from a public health point of view, as the risks to food safety are substantially reduced.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/17
By: Huang Ya-chun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 17 (CNA) State-run oil refiner CPC Co., Taiwan (CPC, 中油) is currently

CPC Chairman Tai Chein (戴謙)

developing new techniques to directly extract geothermal heat from underground and plans to study the feasibility of these techniques on Mt. Datun, in suburban Taipei, next year, the company’s new head has said.

“Technology can leap,” said CPC Chairman Tai Chein (戴謙), who assumed the office last month, in an interview with CNA when asked about the company’s response to the government’s nuclear-free homeland policy, which aims to close all Taiwan’s nuclear power plants by 2025.

Tai mentioned CPC’s failed terrestrial heat exploration program in Yilan County, where the company drilled its first geothermal heat well in 1976.

Although that program led to the inauguration of Taiwan’s first terrestrial heat-propelled power plant in 1981, inefficiency resulted in the closure of the plant in 1993.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2017/12/16
By: Taiwan Today,Agencies

Taiwan joined with 70 other World Trade Organization members Dec. 13 in pledging to work

Representatives attend the closing ceremony of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference Dec. 13 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Courtesy of WTO official websi

toward new regulations on trade-related aspects of e-commerce.

In a statement released at the conclusion of the four-day WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, representatives of the 71 members reaffirmed the importance of global e-commerce and the opportunities it creates for inclusive trade and development. The inaugural meeting under the initiative is scheduled to be held in the first quarter of next year.

Minister without Portfolio Deng Chen-chung, who led Taiwan’s delegation to the event, reiterated at the forum the nation’s commitment to fostering the e-commerce sector. Deng, who heads the Cabinet-level Office of Trade Negotiations, called for the establishment of new regulations in areas such as customer protection and privacy, adding that related efforts should seek to ensure that e-commerce trade presents equal opportunities for countries around the world.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/16
By: Frances Huang

Taipei, Dec. 16 (CNA) Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. took first place in the global tablet computer shipment rankings for the third quarter of this year, according to U.S-based International Data Corp. (IDC).

During the July-September period, Hon Hai, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, accounted for 22 percent of total global slate tablet shipments and 36 percent of total global detachable tablet shipments, both the highest, IDC cited data as saying.

In terms of slate tablet rankings, Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea came in second with a 14 percent share of the global market, ahead of China’s Huaqin Telecom Technology Co. (about 14 percent) and Taiwan’s notebook computer contract maker Compal Electronics Inc. (9%), IDC said.    [FULL  STORY]

Los Angeles Ti/mes
Date: December  15, 2017 
By: Catharine Hamm

Here’s another super-low fare to Asia, this one $402 round-trip, including all taxes and

You can fly round-trip from LAX to Taipei on United $402 and can see Liberty Square in Taipei. (Ritchie B. Tongo / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock)

fees, from LAX to Taipei, Taiwan on United.

The fare, subject to availability, must be purchased by Dec. 22. It is for departures Jan. 5-Feb. 5.

There is no minimum stay, but there is a three-month maximum stay.   [FULL  STORY]