Taipei Times
Date: Jun 16, 2017
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter, in Taoyuan

HTC Corp (宏達電) chairwoman and chief executive officer Cher Wang (王雪紅) yesterday vowed that the

smartphone company would deliver good financial results next year, after posting consecutive losses over the past two years.

“I am really sorry that the company failed to be profitable. I have taken over the position of chief executive officer for two years now, and I believe that HTC can deliver satisfactory results for shareholders in the third year [next year],” Wang said at the company’s annual general meeting in Taoyuan.

Wang made the remarks in response to questions by more than 15 shareholders on when HTC could swing back into black and distribute dividends.

“All we care about is HTC’s profitability and stock price performance. How much longer do we have to wait? And what are your strategies for operations to pick up?” asked an 80-year-old shareholder, who said he used his pension to buy 5,000 HTC shares at more than NT$800 per share in 2012.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-15

The upcoming 2017 Taiwan Culinary Exhibition is set to feature delicious specialties from around the

world. That was the word from Kuo Chiung-li, the deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Visitors Association.

The exhibition will take place from July 21 to July 24 at the Taipei World Trade Center. The venue will feature 21 showrooms, each with their own culture-themed cusines.

Kuo said a major goal of this year’s Exhibition is to feature a variety of delicacies from different cultures around the world.

“The theme of this year’s culinary exhibition is ‘Colorful Era: the Gourmets from around the World’. Not only will the visitors be able taste the delicacies from Taiwan, including regular dishes and small eats, they will also be treated with dishes from foreign cultures. That’s why we say that foreigners won’t feel homesick when they eat in Taiwan. Because living in Taiwan allows them to find food that is exclusive to their home countries,” said Kuo.  [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/15
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, June 15 (CNA) Although Taiwan’s net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows hit a record high of

US$12.9 billion this year, there have been recent indications of increased capital outflows.

Accumulative inflows of FDI have hit a record high of US$212.281 billion so far this year, compared with US$193.372 billion last year, according to statistics released on Thursday by the Financial Supervision Commission.

For the first five months, the country attracted net FDI inflows of US$12.724 billion.

However, from June 1-13 net FDI inflow was US$185 million, which represent a sharp decline from a monthly average of about US$2-3 billion in net inflows over the past five months.

Of note, net FDI outflow of US$190 million was recorded on Tuesday, the figures show.  [FULL  STORY]

‘RECOVERY PLAN’:The company is developing a cost-effective modem architecture to go with its mid-range mobile phone chips, CEO Tsai Ming-kai told a media briefing

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 16, 2017
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter, in Hsinchu

MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it is seeking to recoup its market position in the next one to two

years by improving its handset chip’s cost structure and increasing its penetration into telecoms beyond China by tapping into new co-chief executive officer Rick Tsai’s (蔡力行) semiconductor experience.

The world’s No. 3 chip designer last year suffered a setback in terms of market share and gross margin, which it attributed to a host of factors, including chip supply constraints, key component price hikes and product planning flaws.

Unveiling its “recovery plan,” MediaTek chairman and co-chief executive officer Tsai Ming-kai (蔡明介) told a media briefing in Hsinchu that the company is developing a new cost-effective modem architecture to go with its mid-range mobile phone chips, dubbed Helio P series, and entry-level 4G chips.

The new modem architecture is scheduled to hit the market in the second half of this year, which is expected to significantly improve the firm’s chip cost structure, Tsai Ming-kai said.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/13
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) Value added tax (VAT) refunds filed by foreign visitors to Taiwan for 2016 fell more than 20 percent from a year earlier due to a plunge in the number of arriving Chinese tourists, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Tuesday.

The MOF said that since Chinese tourists in Taiwan tend to make purchases such as luxury goods and souvenirs here, the decline in their arrivals served as the major reason for the fall in VAT refunds filed by foreign visitors.

In 2016, VAT refunds filed by foreign visitors to Taiwan totaled NT$1.69 billion (US$55.96 million), down 22 percent from a year earlier, while the number of VAT refund applications fell 1.3 percent year-on-year to 1.62 million, MOF data shows.

The decline came after the number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan fell to 3.51 million from 4.18 million in 2015 amid cooling cross-Taiwan Strait relations since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office on May 20, 2016.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/13
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Ko Lin

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) The Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦) has been fined NT$1 million

(US$33,200) for failing to file reports on large cash transactions as required by the Money Laundering Control Act, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said Tuesday.

The incident is the second time the FSC has fined a local bank over such violations following a NT$1.8 million fine that was imposed on Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰銀) earlier this year.

Under the Act, financial institutions are required to report to relevant authorities each cash transaction or withdrawal by their clients that exceeds NT$500,000.

A recent investigation led by the FSC found that Fubon has failed to report some 20 suspicious financial transactions carried out by its clients last year, according to Chen Yen-yi (陳妍沂), chief secretary of the FSC’s Banking Bureau.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 017/06/12
By: Taiwan News

As the topic of offshore wind development has been discussed widely and intensively over the past decade, Taiwan has willingly undertaken the responsibility of preserving the environment as a member of international society by submitting to Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol, pledging to become a non-nuclear country by 2025, with an energy mix of 50% natural gas, 30% coal and 20% renewable energy.

In order to achieve this goal, the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) and Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC) has organized collaboratively the “2017 Taiwan Offshore Wind Industry Delegation Visit to the UK & Netherlands” on June 5th – 15th 2017 to learn valuable experience and expertise from the U.K. and the Netherlands to build local supply chain and enhance industrial development in Taiwan.

In London, U.K., the delegation plans on not only visiting the Offshore Wind Energy 2017, the largest offshore wind event in the world that hosts over 400 exhibitors showcasing first class services and cutting edge expertise, but also participating in “the UK Taiwan Offshore Wind Seminar” co-hosted by CIECA, Taiwan Wind Turbine Industry Association (TWTIA) and The Department for International Trade (DIT) to exchange knowledge and technology with wind energy companies in the U. K. as well as seek opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.    [FULL  STORY]