Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/12
By: Jackson Chang and Frances Huang

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) The market capitalization of semiconductor companies listed on Taiwan’s stock market shrank by more than NT$140 billion (US$4.64 billion) on Monday after a sell-off of tech stocks in the United States at the end of last week.

The semiconductor sub-index on Taiwan’s main board shed 1.33 percent Monday, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) falling 2.12 percent to close at NT$207.50, after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index on Wall Street shed 4.23 percent on Friday.

Due to the losses, TSMC’s market cap was cut by NT$116.6 billion, which sent the accumulated market cap of Taiwan’s IC sector down NT$146.7 billion on Monday.

The IC sector weakened as investors reacted to a 6.46 percent plunge suffered by U.S.-listed IC chip supplier NVidia Corp., which closed at US$149.60 after a research note said the stock could fall to test US$130, analysts said.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
2017/06/10 20:35:27

Taipei, June 10 (CNA) Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (台塑石化), a privately owned fuel supplier, said on Saturday that it will lower gasoline and diesel prices for next week after international crude oil prices posted a decline for the third consecutive week.

The weakness of the global oil market reflected rising concerns over a global supply glut, prompting Formosa Petrochemical to cut domestic gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.5 (US$0.02) per liter for next week, effective from 1 a.m. on Monday.

It was the second straight week Formosa Petrochemical has lowered fuel prices after a NT$0.6 per liter drop this week.    FULL  STORY]

Exports grew 8.4% year on year to reach US$25.52 billion due to robust demand from Southeast Asian markets

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/09
By: Taiwan Today,Agencies

Taiwan’s exports grew for the eighth consecutive month in May, increasing 8.4 percent year on year to US$25.52 billion, according to the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs June 7.

Electronics components comprised 30.4 percent of shipments, followed by information and communication technology products at 10.5 percent, basic metals and related products at 10.1 percent, machinery at 8.5 percent, and plastic and rubber products at 7.7 percent, Ministry of Finance data showed.

The BOFT attributed the positive results to robust demand from emerging markets in Southeast Asia and the continued strength of the nation’s semiconductor equipment exports. Bureau figures reveal exports to Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states rose 7 percent year on year in May, while shipments to the 18 New Southbound Policy countries increased 6 percent for the same period.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/09
By: Han Ting-ting and Ko Lin

Taipei, June 9 (CNA) Zipcar Inc., the largest car sharing service network in the world,

launched its business in the Asia-Pacific region on Friday when it started operations in Taipei.

Boston-based Zipcar, a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, uses a self-service car rental business model that gives members access to cars in its fleet parked at certain pick-up locations through reservations made by logging onto its system via the Internet.

Established in 2000, the car sharing service is now available in more than 500 towns and college campuses in many countries, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.    [FULL  STORY]

‘CLEANER ENERGY SOURCES’:The company signed an MOU with the Yunlin County Government regarding its plan to convert its coal-fired power plants to gas-fired ones

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 10, 2017
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Mailiao Power Corp (麥寮汽電), Formosa Plastics Group’s (台塑集團) coal-fired power

subsidiary, yesterday urged the Yunlin County Government to extend the permits for using coal at the firm’s power generators in the county, as the two-year permits expire tomorrow.

Mailiao Power chairman Chen Bao-lang (陳寶郎), who is also chairman of Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), said the power company has abided by the county government’s requests, including a request to reduce its annual power generation by 28 percent, since 2015.

“Mailiao’s coal-fired generation units produced 5 percent of Taiwan’s total power supply last year. We hope the county government will take the nation’s power supply stability into account when reviewing our application for a permit extension,” Chen told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taipei.

The company sells electricity to state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電). It has three coal-fired electricity generators with a combined installed capacity of 1.8 megawatts, making it the largest privately owned coal-fired power plant operator in the nation.

Which companies in Taiwan offer their employees the best salary and benefits?

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/08
By: Michelle Wojtkowiak (陳雪兒) and Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Which company offers its employees the best salary and

benefits? The results have been pretty astonishing, OBI Pharma (浩鼎) gave its employees the most generous package, in second place was MediaTech (聯發科), and the third spot went to Amazing Microelectronic Corp (晶焱科技), according to data from the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the Taipei Exchange (TPEx).

Despite the fact that OBI Pharma experienced a loss of NT$1.1 billion in total last year, their average benefit package for employees was NT$3.96 million, far above the average of other companies: Mediatech came in second with NT$3.22 and Amazing Microelectronic Corp with NT$3.07 million rounded out the top three. The rest of the top ten companies in order are: Hotai Motor Co. (和泰汽車), Foxconn Technology Co. (鴻準), Topco Technologies Co. (崇越), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (鴻海), Phison Electronics Corp. (群聯電子), Medigen Biotechnology (基亞), Aspeed Technology Inc. (信驊科技), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電), and Largan Precision Co. (大立光).

Last year, the average staff salary in a company listed on the main board of the stock exchange was NT$1.08 million, and the average for employees of Over-The-Counter (OTC) companies was NT0.85 million, both seeing an increase of 2.4% over the previous year. The combined amount of compensation packages was NT$1.4 trillion, a slight increase of 1.3%.    [FULL  STORY]