Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/12/01
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang 

Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) Manufacturing activity in Taiwan remained in expansion mode for the 21st consecutive month in November as Taiwanese manufacturers continued to benefit from a global recovery, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) said Friday.

In addition, activity in the local service sector saw its ninth consecutive month of expansion in November under favorable economic fundamentals at home and abroad, CIER said.

CIER, one of the leading economic think tanks in Taiwan, said the local purchasing managers index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector for November stood at 57.2, and while the latest figure was down 0.5 from the previous month, it remained above the 50 point mark, which indicates expansion mode, the CIER said.

The PMI has now remained in expansion mode 21 months in a row, beating the previous record from March 2013 to October 2014, CIER said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-11-30

The National Development Council (NDC) has set a new target for Taiwan’s economy in

2018. This includes GDP growth of between 2.4% and 2.6% and a sub-3.8% unemployment rate.(CNA file photo)

The National Development Council (NDC) has set a new target for Taiwan’s economy in 2018. This includes GDP growth of between 2.4% and 2.6% and a sub-3.8% unemployment rate.

The target for GDP growth is close to the estimate from the government’s statistics office, set at 2.29%. Chen Mei-ling, the Council’s director, said their conservative target is based on the lukewarm outlook for next year’s exports and domestic consumption.

The NDC also sets its forecast for public investment and consumption at 3.36% and 2.29%, respectively. Both figures are slightly more optimistic than the statistics office. The council said the number is based on the government’s push for the forward-looking infrastructure plan and the relaxing of investment regulations.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan drop 2 positions but still ranked 1st in Asia

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/30
By: Mabel Neo, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) –Based in Washington DC, the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute(GEDI), which produces the Global Entrepreneurship Index this year.  The United States of America topped the index, which ranked 137 countries while Taiwan falls back two positions this year, ranking No. 18.

Each country is ranked according to its GEI score which includes the three main sub-indexes:  Entrepreneurial Attitudes, Entrepreneurial Ability, and Entrepreneurial Aspirations. GEDI collects data on the entrepreneurial attitudes, abilities, and aspirations of the local population and then weigh these against the prevailing social and economic infrastructure that aspects such as broadband connectivity and the transport links to external markets.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-11-29

Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has greenlit 19 offshore wind

power projects. That’s out of a total of 22 projects which were submitted for environmental assessment in 2017.

Wind power is an important component in the government’s efforts to phase out nuclear energy. EPA Minister Lee Ying-yuan told a press conference on Monday that projected output will far surpass the country’s wind power goals for the year 2025.

“Environmental assessments have passed for projects that will have a total output of 10.68 GW, which is more than two times our goal. This shows that in our efforts to develop green energy, and offshore wind power in particular, we have overcome a lot of obstacles. This includes those posed by the conservation of the Chinese white dolphins,” said Lee.    [FULL  STORY]

I-Mei Foods Co. recently held direct hiring in Davao City and Manila in the Philippines to help ease workers’ debt burdens from broker fees

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/29
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A story that has made a headline but has not really caught a lot

of people’s attention was said to be “very unusual” by a BBC reporter.

In the radio show “BBC Business Matters” broadcast on Wednesday, BBC reporter Cindy Su expressed her dire concern over the conditions of migrant workers in Taiwan, but a direct hiring move by a leading Taiwanese food manufacturer has won recognition as a new trend to start out.

In her report, she said the company I-Mei Foods did something “unusual” in terms of recruitment and has actively responded to the problems facing migrant workers by taking the first step – cutting out the middlemen in the process of hiring.

She continued to say that the company went to the Philippines, to the southern city of Davao and the capital Manila recently to interview hundreds of job applicants, migrant workers mainly, to fill 200 positions in Taiwan in their factories.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/29
By: Tien Yu-pin and Frances Huang

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) Investor confidence in the Taiwan stock market is at the highest

level in two years as the main board remains above the 10,000-point mark, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

The survey by J.P. Morgan Asset Management showed that the equity confidence index in the fourth quarter of the year rose to 96.4 from 89.5 in the third quarter. Climbing for the third consecutive quarter, the index reached its highest level since the second quarter of 2015, when it stood at 106.4, the poll indicated.

The weighted index on the local main board ended above 10,000 points in mid-May for the first time in 17 years and maintained its momentum, holding above that level for more than 100 straight trading sessions.    [FULL  STORY]