Business and Finance

Are Apple and Amazon backing Foxconn’s bid for Toshiba? Terry Gou confirms the rumor

The China Post
Date: June 6, 2017
By: The China Post with NOWnews

Hon Hai Precision Chairman Terry Gou confirmed that his company had secured the support of two giant U.S. clients, Apple and Amazon, for its bid for Toshiba, foreign media reported. The report indicates that among the many bidders for Toshiba’s semiconductor business, Hon Hai has the highest bid, which may exceed 2 trillion yen, or roughly NT$540 billion. As for how much the two U.S. firms are contributing, Gou said this was a business secret that could not be revealed.

According to Japanese media outlet Nikkei, Gou, who is currently in Osaka, confirmed during an exclusive interview that for the purposes of its bid for Toshiba’s semiconductor business, Hon Hai had secured the support and financial backing of U.S. giants Apple and Amazon. He said Apple and Amazon had an increasing demand for memory chips, and so the two were contributing an amount of money, though he could not reveal how much was given as that was classified information.

This March, Gou had expressed his intent to take over Toshiba’s semiconductor business. He said that he had studied the case for a long time, and while he could not say that he would win for sure, he underscored that Hon Hai was confident and sincere in its bid. However, there have been statements claiming that Japanese officials did not want the transfer of the key chip technology out of the country. Therefore, there has been speculation that Hon Hai, with a number of plants in mainland China, was unlikely to win the bidding war.    [FULL  STORY]

Science and tech. ministry abolishes rigid pay scale

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-05

Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology has abolished a rigid pay scale system for entry and low-level skilled workers.

Under the system, skilled workers such as research assistants are paid according to their educational levels and seniority. There is also a minimum wage and a price ceiling too.

Until now, the system has been used by government agencies, research bodies as well as public and private academic institutions as payroll guidelines since 2005.

Minster Chen Liang-gee said on Monday that it is professionalism and meeting job requirements, rather than educational background, which should be taken into consideration.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan raises prices for six types of liquor

Taiwan raises prices for six types of liquor for the first time in 15 years

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/05
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (New Taipei City)—Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor (TTL) has raised prices for six

Shaoxing rice wine.(By Wikimedia Commons)

types of liquor including three types of shaoxing wine, yellow wine, Chinese wine and dragon phoenix wine (龍鳳酒) by NT$10 to NT$40 (US$0.33 to US$1.33) .

TTL confirmed the company adjusted liquor prices for the first time in 15 years, and the adjustments were needed to ensure “reasonable profits.”

Sales of the six types of liquor amounted to less than 1 percent of total alcohol sales, said the company.

Shaoxing wine prices rose from NT$160 to NT$175, mature shaoxing wine inched up from NT$180 per bottle to NT$200, and premium shaoxing wine prices were up from NT$250 to NT$290, according to data compiled by distributors.    [FULL  STORY]

Agricultural losses from torrential rain exceed NT$90 million

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/05
By: Yang Shu-min and Christie Chen

Taipei, June 5 (CNA) Agricultural losses in Taiwan from days of torrential rain has

Photo courtesy of private contributor

reached NT$90.58 million (US$3.01 million), the Council of Agriculture (COA) said, citing estimates valid as of 5 p.m. on Monday.

Yunlin County in central Taiwan suffered the heaviest losses at NT$25.91 million, or 29 percent of total national losses, the COA said.

New Taipei City reported NT$17.8 million in agricultural losses, followed by Kaohsiung City with NT$10.02 million, Nantou County with NT$9.58 million and Chiayi County NT$9.43 million, the COA said.

Crop damage accounted for most of the losses, with 3,473 hectares of farmland and NT$67.26 million worth of crops damaged, according to the COA.    [FULL  STORY]

Solar firms see rise in demand

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 06, 2017
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Revenue for local solar companies Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技) and Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶能源) increased last month, benefiting from higher inventory buildup demand from China and the US amid rekindled solar disputes between the two nations.

The recovery has exceeded Green Energy’s expectations.

Cautious about market demand, the nation’s largest solar wafer maker in March had lowered its factory utilization to 80 percent from 90 percent the previous month to cope with an industry slump.

“The market sentiment is changing rapidly,” Green Energy spokesperson Christine Chen (陳婷婷) said on the telephone. “We are seeing strong customer demand for our high-efficiency solar wafers. All of our [solar wafer] capacity has been booked this month.”    [FULL  STORY]

Gov’t to offer subsidies for crop damage: Minister

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-04

Agriculture Minister Lin Tsong-Hsien says that farmers throughout Taiwan will be

A taro field in Yunlin County is covered in mud after heavy rains swept through over the weekend. Yunlin incurred the brunt of the nation’s crop losses during the latest bout of inclement weather. (CNA photo)

eligible for subsidies to deal with damage from heavy rain and flooding. He said that once the damage is assessed, within one week, the central government and local governments will announce the standards for determining who will be eligible.

Agricultural losses from torrential rain in Taiwan over the weekend have reached an estimated NT$40 million (US$1.36 million) as of Sunday. That’s according to initial estimates released by the Council of Agriculture.

As of 11am on Sunday, the council said that agricultural losses were heaviest in Yunlin County, which recorded about 54% of the nation’s total losses.
[FULL  STORY]

New Southbound Policy boosts Taiwan exports to ASEAN nations by 17%

Exports to the 18 countries covered by the government’s New Southbound Policy increased by 15% in first quarter

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/05
By: Taiwan Today,Agencies

Taiwan’s exports to the 18 countries covered by the government’s New Southbound

Taiwan Exports to New Southbound Policy Countries (Taiwan Today)

Policy picked up more steam during the first four months of the year, reflecting the effectiveness of the initiative in driving the local economy, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics June 2.

A key component of President Tsai Ing-wen’s national development strategy, the initiative seeks to deepen Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.

Citing statistics compiled by the Ministry of Finance, the DGBAS said exports to the regions totaled US$21.14 billion between January and April for a gain of 15.6 percent, compared to the 13.6-percent increase in the nation’s global exports over the same period.    [FULL  STORY]

THSRC added to the Taiwan 50 Index

CAPPING IT OFF:While THSRC’s climbing stock price launched it onto the index, Eclat Textile Co and others fell onto the waiting list and the Mid-Cap 100 Index

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 05, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) has been added to the Taiwan 50 Index after a quarterly index review, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said.

The Taiwan 50 Index, which is jointly compiled and managed by the TWSE and global index provider FTSE International Ltd, is comprised of the top 50 stocks in the local equity market in terms of market capitalization.

The TWSE said that THSRC has ranked among the top 40 stocks in market cap in the local bourse, so FTSE decided to include the stock in the index.

The index adjustments are to take effect on June 19.    [FULL  STORY]

Formosa Petrochemical announces fuel price cut for next week

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/03

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (台塑石化), a privately owned fuel supplier, said Saturday that it will lower its domestic gasoline and diesel prices for next week, ending a two-week rising streak, after international crude oil prices fell more than 4 percent this week.

Renewed concerns over a global supply glut sent the global crude oil market into a tailspin, which led Formosa Petrochemical to cut its gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.6 (US$0.02) per liter for next week, effective at 1 a.m. Monday.

This week, Formosa Petrochemical raised its fuel prices by NT$0.2 per liter.
[FULL  STORY]