Radio Taiwan Internartional
Date: 2017-07-11

Germany’s trade office in Taipei has held a conference on offshore wind power.

The government is planning heavy investment in wind power and other sources of

renewable energy. That’s in line with its goal to end the use of nuclear power by 2025. Tuesday’s conference brought representatives of several German firms to Taipei to share their experiences building wind power infrastructure.

Deputy economics minister Shen Jong-chin said Tuesday that the ministry has completed a two-year plan for solar power and a four-year plan for wind power. He said the government has also set a goal for renewables to make up 20% of Taiwan’s power mix by 2025. Shen said the government is also planning a green energy science park in southern Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

How often do you visit McDonald’s?

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/11
By: Juvina Lai, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Are you a fast food lover? Do you find yourself running inside a nearby McDonalds frequently? Here are some essential hacks that would help you get the same meal for a relatively cheaper price.

Users on the DCard website have shared some important suggestions that they claim not all the McDonald’s staff are aware of.

For example, if you get a McChicken set meal which consists of a McChicken burger, a medium size fries and a small corn soup, this would cost around NT$95.

But if you go for the “1+1=50” set meal in the chain store, you can get the McChicken Burger with a corn soup for NT$50, and if you add another medium fries, it would cost you additional NT$40. The total price would be NT$90, and you can save NT$5 for the same meal.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/11
By: Chen Wei-ting and S.C. Chang

Taipei, July 11 (CNA) The Hilton Hotel, a fond memory for many Taiwanese after it left Taiwan in 2002, said Tuesday that it is coming back to Taiwan, with a brand new presence in Xinban Special District of New Taipei.

Francis Lee (李威豪), the Hilton’s senior vice president of development for Greater China and Mongolia, told local media he is not worried about shrinking numbers of Chinese tourists, as he sees blue skies over the long term for Taiwan’s tourism industry.

He said the Xinban Hilton, which is due to open early next year, might be hit with low room occupancy initially, but added that there will be more and more international visitors attracted to Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

NEW APPLICATIONS:One of the firm’s local clients in the petrochemical industry is using AR devices to help new workers effectively manage gas tanks, Ericsson said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 12, 2017
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

A growing number of Taiwanese manufacturers are showing strong interest in using

5G technology to enhance their manufacturing efficiency, including implementing 5G-enabled augmented-reality (AR) devices to manage production lines, Ericsson said yesterday.

As Taiwanese manufacturers move toward “smart” factories, they are studying how to use 5G technology to accelerate the transition, Ericsson Taiwan Ltd chief technology officer Dann Yao (姚旦) said on the sidelines of a news conference in Taipei.

AR and virtual-reality (VR) devices function better with 5G than 4G, as it reduces latency and improves data transmission rates, Yao said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/08
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 8 (CNA) Property prices in Taiwan are expected to stabilize in 2018 after an expected slight fall this year, according to U.S-based Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings.

After a 4 percent fall in 2015, Taiwan’s property prices have continued to fall but that is expected to be limited to 1 percent in 2016, S&P said.

Chou Yi-hua (周怡華), an analyst with Taiwan Ratings, a local partner of S&P, said that property prices in 2017 are expected to fall about 1 percent, which indicates that market order is set to return.

Chou said that Taiwan’s property market has been in consolidation mode from 2016-2017, ensuring prices should start stabilizing in 2018 and continue into 2019.    [FULL  STORY]

The company has sold over 13,000 electric scooters in five weeks.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/08
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Over a thousand Gogoro 2, the company’s second-generation electric

scooter launched late in May, were delivered at 34 pick-up points and shops across Taiwan Saturday morning, reports said.

Gogoro had received over 13,000 orders for the Gogoro 2 until June 30 since its release on May 25, said the company.

The manufacturer is confident that sales this year in Taiwan will double that of the previous year, which stood at 17,000 scooters.

Gogoro held special delivery events with video calls in Taipei, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung Saturday morning, and with other pick-up points and shops, there were about 1,300 scooters handed over to customers on a single day, said the company.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/08
By: Pan Chi-i and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 8 (CNA) Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (台塑石化), a privately owned fuel supplier, said

on Saturday that it will raise domestic gasoline and diesel prices for next week, marking the second consecutive week the company has hiked its fuel prices, dealers said.

Concerns over a global supply glut eased after a fall in crude oil inventories in the U.S. market, prompting Formosa Petrochemical to increase gasoline prices by NT$0.4 (US$0.013) per liter and diesel prices by NT$0.5 per liter, effective at 1 a.m. on Monday.

The latest price hike came after Formosa Petrochemical raised fuel prices by NT$0.3 per liter this week.

Following the increase, prices at its gas stations islandwide will rise to NT$20.5 per liter for super diesel, NT$23.2 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$24.6 per liter for 95 unleaded and NT$26.7 per liter for 98 unleaded, Formosa Petrochemical said.    [FULL  STORY]

Export performance in the third quarter would largely depend on whether the new iPhone 8 will sell well, the officials said.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/07/07
By: Wendy Lee , Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News ) – Taiwan’s exports grew for a ninth consecutive month in June, reporting a

13 percent increase year-on-year to US$25.83 billion, according to the latest report released by the Ministry of Finance Friday.

As global demand for electronics components used in technology gadgets remained solid, Taiwan’s June exports registered a double-digit growth of 13 percent with US$25.83 billion, while the nation’s imports grew 3.7 percent from a year earlier to US$20 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$5.83 billion, up US$2.26 billion year-on-year.

Due to the impact of increased raw material prices and strong export performance for the production of electronic integrated circuits and flat-panel displays, coupled with the rising demand for heavy machinery and equipment from the United States, Taiwan’s exports continued to show sturdy growth this month, the officials said.

However, the nation’s exports are expected to see smaller growth in the second half of this year as a result of a relatively higher base of comparison in the same period last year.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/07/07
By: Yang Shu-min and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 7 (CNA) The National Development Council (NDC), the country’s top economic planning

agency, said Friday that it has completed a budget of NT$83.9 billion (US$2.74 billion) for the first stage of spending under the newly passed “forward-looking infrastructure development plan.”

The NT$83.9 billion budget will be allocated during the period of July 2017 through December 2018 for a total of 68 projects in a wide range of industries under the plan, said Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), NDC deputy chief.

The move for the NDC to write the budget came after a bill for the infrastructure development plan cleared the floor of the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday.

The newly passed bill will allow the Cabinet to spend up to NT$420 billion over the next four years on the country’s infrastructure works, as well as high-tech development, in a bid to speed up the pace of economic growth.    [FULL  STORY]