Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/10/01
By: Chiu Po-sheng and William Yen 

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) State-run oil refiner CPC Corp. Taiwan (中油) will increase domestic gasoline and diesel prices Monday by NT$0.4 (US$0.0132) per liter, pushing prices at the pump to a nearly nine-month high.

This is also the sixth consecutive week in which fuel prices have risen.

After the adjustment, which will take effect at midnight Sunday, prices at CPC gas stations around Taiwan will rise to NT$23 per liter for super diesel, NT$25.2 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$26.7 per liter for 95 unleaded and NT$28.7 per liter for 98 unleaded.

The rise comes after disruptions in crude oil supplies due to the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG’s) independence referendum, said the CPC.
[FULL  STORY]

A record 25 Taiwan design brands will showcase their products
 
Taiwan News
Date: 2017/09/30
By: Juvina Lai, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – According to the Ministry of Culture, 25 Taiwanese companies are looking forward to showcasing their products at the Bangkok International Houseware Fair, one of the leading trade fairs held in Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states.

The Ministry of Culture mentioned that participating in such large-scale international fairs will provide Taiwan brands greater opportunities in the Southeast Asia market.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/30
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) A recent vehicle-free trial imposed on a part of the historic

Dihua Street in Taipei on Sundays has received positive response and will be extended to the end of 2017, the Taipei City government said Saturday.

Located in the Dadaocheng area, which is known for the Xiahai City God Temple, old buildings, wholesale groceries, dry foods and herbs, Dihua Street between Guisui Street and Nanjing W. Road was made into a pedestrian-only area between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Sundays in September.

A survey conducted by the city’s Department of Transportation has shown that visitors to the area have been very supportive of the measure. The survey reported a 95 percent satisfaction rate among 618 interviewees, with 98 of them being foreigners.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-09-29

The Philippines has signaled its willingness to revise its bilateral investment

agreement with Taiwan. The news comes as the government seeks to pursue investment talks with countries in Southeast Asia under the New Southbound policy.

Deputy economics minister Yang Wei-fu was in the Philippines on Friday attending a trade meeting. He said a minister-level meeting would take place in Taipei later this year and that a breakthrough in talks can hopefully be expected by the end of the year.

The news will be welcome for Taiwanese businesses which have been reluctant to pursue opportunities in the Philippines with the future of current investment protections uncertain.    [FULL  STORY]

Apart from phone rupture while charging, another issue of a crackling noise while making calls was reported
 
Taiwan News
Date: 2017/09/29
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Just a week after the launch of the new Apple iPhone 8 in

Taiwan, local media reported an iPhone 8 Plus split open while charging. No one was injured in the incident.

According to Apple Daily, a woman surnamed Wu living in Taichung purchased her gold 64 GB iPhone 8 Plus on Sept. 23 from a mobile communication store. Three days later, the woman left the charged phone on the desk after watching a film and she immediately saw the phone rupture with its glass panel separating away from body.

The woman told the media that she is a fan of the iPhone and mainly used the new phone to check Facebook, take photos and watch films. The phone had not been dropped or sustained any damage before the incident, she added.

The phone has been sent back to the store and will be sent to Apple Inc. for examination.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/09/29
By: Liao Yu-yang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Former Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光)

will take over as chairman of the Hsinchu County-based Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) next month, according to the nonprofit R&D organization.

Lee, who resigned in the wake of a major blackout that affected millions of households around Taiwan in August, will take over the position on Oct. 5, the ITRI said in a public notification.

The holder of a Ph.D. degree from Cornell University in theoretical and applied mechanics, Lee worked as a researcher at IBM for many years before returning to Taiwan to teach at National Taiwan University (NTU).    [FULL  STORY]

About NT$111.6 billion in currency losses was reported by Taiwanese insurers in the first seven months this year

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/09/28
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Approximately NT$111.6 billion in currency losses was

reported by Taiwanese insurers in the first seven months this year due to heavy U.S. dollar positions. Taiwan’s financial regulator and experts have urged local insurers to hedge currency risk to reduce the impact of the fall of the U.S. Dollar on investments.

On Thursday, the Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) co-hosted a forum in cooperation with the Taiwan Insurance Guaranty Fund to help insurers utilize a set of local diversified hedging tools to mitigate the risk.

Recently named as the best Exchange in Asia by FOW and Global Investor reportedly for its diversified forex options, Taiwan derivatives market the TAIFEX continues rolling out innovative currency products, with Australian Dollar and British Pound options coming up in the first half of 2018. TAIFEX Chairman Liu Len-yu (劉連煜) said that the tools can be used to retain earnings and minimize risk, and have been proved successful to reach that end.    [FULL  STORY]