Business and Finance

Unemployment falls to two-year low in May

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-22

Taiwan’s unemployment rate continued a steady decline in May and fell to a two-year low. That’s according to the latest government figures.

May’s jobless rate was 3.66%, a slight dip from the previous month and a 0.18% drop year-on-year. The average unemployment rate for the first five months of the year has also dropped compared to 2016.

May saw a total of 11.3 million people employed, 6,000 more than April and 84,000 more than May 2016. The government statistics office remains conservative on the nation’s economic recovery, however. It says growth has not reached the same level as 2015.    [FULL  STORY]

Foxconn chief slams Toshiba deal as “high-tech scam”

Gou wants to build Toshiba factory in U.S.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/22
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Foxconn Technology Chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) slammed Toshiba’s decision

Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou rips up Toshiba news report. (By Central News Agency)

not to sell its chip unit to the Taiwanese company as a “high-tech scam” and publicly ripped up a newspaper reporting on the deal.

Foxconn, better known in Taiwan as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (鴻海精密工業), was one of several bidders for the Japanese chipmaker, but on Wednesday, Toshiba named an alliance between Bain Capital of the United States, Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) as its preferred bidder.

Addressing a regular shareholder meeting at his company headquarters in New Taipei City Thursday, Gou first said the die had not yet been cast and changes were still possible.

He later derided Toshiba’s decision as a “high-tech scam” and blamed Japanese government bureaucrats for pushing the Toshiba Memory unit toward an uncertain future. They were taking revenge because he had not followed their advice during his takeover of Sharp Corporation last year, Gou said.
[FULL  STORY]

Think tank raises Taiwan GDP growth forecast for 2017 to over 2%

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/22
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang

Taipei, June 22 (CNA) The Taiwan Research Institute said on Thursday it has raised its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Taiwan for 2017 to more than 2 percent, at a time of rising global demand.

The institute, one of the leading think tanks in Taiwan, upgraded its GDP growth forecast from 1.74 percent to 2.01 percent. The institute joined a growing list of think tanks to hike their GDP predictions to more than 2 percent.

On the back of a global economic recovery, Taiwan’s commercial sales, which are comprised of wholesale, retail and restaurant/food/beverage industries, started to make a comeback in the second half of last year, while momentum also picked up in industrial production in the second half of last year on the back of growing exports, the institute said.    [FULL  STORY]

Yulon to launch first electric car in Q4

RETURN ON INVESTMENT?A lawmaker said the automaker had failed to produce a commercially available electric vehicle, despite NT$1.6 billion in government subsidies

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 23, 2017
By: Kuo Chia-erh / Staff reporter

Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車), one of the nation’s largest automakers, yesterday said it would launch its

Yulon Group chairman Kenneth Yen, second right, yesterday attends a shareholders’ meeting at the company’s headquarters in New Taipei City’s Sindian District. Photo: Yang Ya-min, Taipei Times

first electric car in the fourth quarter of this year, aiming to impress the public with its environmentally friendly vehicles.

The S3 EV, which can accelerate from zero to 100kph in 7.2 seconds and is equipped with a 33 kilowatt-hour battery, is to be Yulon’s first production-ready sedan in its electric vehicle lineup, the firm said, without providing pricing information.

On Wednesday, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) criticized the automaker, saying that it had failed to produce electric vehicles, despite having received government subsidies since 2011.
[FULL  STORY]

TAITRA opening Indian market for Taiwanese businesses

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-20

Taiwan’s external trade council TAITRA is working to open the door to the Indian market.

In an interview Tuesday, TAITRA head Walter Yeh said TAITRA has already opened a center to help

(CNA file photo)

Taiwanese businesses interested in India. Yeh said the center’s current research is focused on the machine tool and fastener industries.

Yeh said that a group representing Taiwan’s fastener sector is set to travel to India in November, with groups representing the machine tool and motorcycle industries to follow.

Yeh said opening the door to the Indian market will take time but TAITRA’s work has already produced some results. He said TAITRA’s business-to-business platform Taiwantrade and its biggest Indian counterpart Tradeindia signed an agreement in April. He said over 30 Taiwanese businesses have since joined the Indian platform.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s export orders up for 10th straight month in May (update)

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/20
By: Huang Li-yun and Frances Huang

CNA file photo

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) Taiwan reported a year-on-year increase in export orders in May, for the 10th consecutive month, at a time when global demand remains strong, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on Tuesday.

In May, the country’s export orders rose 9.1 percent from a year earlier to US$36.81 billion as the world economy remains on the road to recovery, offsetting the impact of slow-season effects during the month, the MOEA said.

The ministry said the global recovery also minimized the impact of consumers waiting for the latest products to hit the market.

On a month-to-month basis, Taiwan’s export orders rose 3.4 percent, which after seasonal adjustments still represented an increase of 1.0 percent, according to data compiled by the MOEA.
[FULL  STORY]

Pegatron expects robust second half

EXPANSION:The company has doubled its capital spending this year to boost its Chinese plants’ production capacity in time for the peak season, CEO S.J. Liao said

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 21, 2017
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

With its three main product lines’ growth momentum recovering, Pegatron Corp (和碩) expects its business to pick up significantly in the second half and lift its full-year performance.

“The second half of the year would represent the peak for Pegatron’s operations [this year]. Our expanded production capacity is in place,” chief executive officer S.J. Liao (廖賜政) told reporters yesterday after the company’s annual general meeting in Taipei.

Pegatron, one of Apple Inc’s iPhone assemblers, invested US$400 million over the past few months, mainly to purchase new equipment to boost its Chinese plants’ production capacity for communications, consumer electronics and computing products, Liao said.

This year’s capital expenditure was twice the size of last year’s US$200 million and was the largest since 2013, the company said.    [FULL  STORY]

Catcher forecasts revenue rebound in second half

FORESEEABLE DEMAND:The company expects glass and metal casings to be key to smartphone designs, as glass allows for easier and faster wireless charging

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 20, 2017
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Metal casings supplier Catcher Technology Co (可成) expects a significant rebound in revenue in the second half of the year from last year on the back of increasing orders from existing and new clients, company chairman Allen Horng (洪水樹) said yesterday.

“The business outlook this year is better than last year. Shareholders will not be disappointed by Catcher’s performance,” Horng told a news conference after the company’s annual general meeting in Tainan.

The firm is a supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhones and MacBooks.

Catcher’s three main product lines — casings for notebook computers, tablets and smartphones — are to all expected to see growth this year, Horng said, citing order forecasts provided by clients.
[FULL  STORY]

EBRD cooperation week to kick off in Taiwan

“Taiwan is an important source of foreign direct investment in countries where the bank operates.”

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/19
By: Taiwan Today,Agencies

A series of events aimed at strengthening economic collaboration and industrial exchanges between

Taipei City (Courtesy of EBRD)

local companies and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development countries of operations will be jointly staged in Taiwan by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and London-headquartered EBRD from June 19.

Taiwan-EBRD Cooperation Week comprises an investment forum in Taipei City as well as technical visits by foreign delegations to government agencies and private enterprises around the nation.

Set for June 20, the EBRD Investment Forum: We Invest in Changing Lives will provide Taiwan businesses with information on economic opportunities in countries where the bank operates. It will also highlight successful projects involving local companies as well as facilitate matchmaking among interested parties.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares open higher

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/20

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) The Taiwan Stock Exchange’s main index opened up 36.19 points Tuesday at 10,286.79 on turnover of NT$2.04 billion (US$67.04 million).    [SOURCE]