Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-06-03

Taiwan’s external trade council, TAITRA, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a group representing Sri Lanka’s IT industry.

TAITRA hopes its MOU with the Federation of Information Technology Industry of Sri Lanka will expand trade and investment between Sri Lanka and Taiwan.

According to TAITRA, Sri Lanka’s outlook for economic development is good, with a potential per capita income growth rate of 5.5%. TAITRA also says that the IT industry is predicted to account for 40% of the country’s GDP within the next five years.    [SOURCE]

RUMORS:Uncertainty over the release date of Apple Inc’s new iPhone model has been increasing as the high sales season approaches, CIER president Wu Chung-shu said

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 02, 2017
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) posted 58.7 last month, falling from 61 in April, as local manufacturers reported a softer, but solid improvement in operating conditions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.

The latest PMI data lent support to a continued recovery in the global technology cycle, but uncertainty has mounted over the launch of Apple Inc’s next iPhone model due to reported technology snags, CIER president Wu Chung-shu (吳中書) told a news conference.

Local and international media have said Apple might have to delay mass production of its new iPhone from September to October or November, as it has failed to overcome hurdles related to touch-identification features.

“Uncertainty gains strength and diversity as the high sales season approaches,” Wu said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: May 31, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Shares in Taiwan closed lower but remained above the 10,000-point mark on Wednesday as the market resumed trading following the four-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange ended the day down 61.23 points, or 0.61 percent, at 10,040.72 before moving between 10,025.88 and 10,116.13 on turnover of NT$122.579 billion (US$4.06 billion).

The market opened down 6 points at 10,095.95 on thin turnover amid sluggish trading in the bellwether electronics sector as investors expressed concern over the outlook for the economy, but the main index then rose before pulling back from a session high and into negative territory.

Shares in Taiwan moved higher for four consecutive sessions last week to remain above the 10,000-point mark, before edging lower last Friday ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/01
By: Tang Pei-chun, Chen Cheng-wei and Y.F. Low

Brussels, May 31 (CNA) Taiwan has been ranked 14th in global competitiveness by the International Institute for Management (IMD) for 2017, the same position as last year.

Hong Kong and Switzerland remained the two most competitive economies worldwide, followed by Singapore, the United States and the Netherlands, according to the 2017 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking published on Wednesday.

Taiwan was rated 14th out of the 63 economies covered by the annual report and was third among Asian economies, behind Hong Kong and Singapore.

Economies are ranked based on an analysis of more than 340 criteria grouped in four main categories: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.    [FULL  STORY]

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT:The vehicle components maker said it is developing a three-dimensional overlay method, a wrapping technique that is done in a vacuum

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 01, 2017
By: Kuo Chia-erh / By Kuo Chia-erh

Hiroca Holdings Ltd (廣華控股), a Taiwanese automobile components maker with operations in China, yesterday said its new plant in Mexico is to start mass production in the fourth quarter this year as it seeks more orders from the US.

“The new facility is expected to generate revenue of more than US$16 million next year,” company president Steve Huang (黃建中) told reporters after an annual shareholders’ meeting in Taipei.

The ongoing capacity expansion project is seen as a part of Hiroca’s long-term business plans to reduce its reliance on its major Japanese brand-name customers, Huang said.

Revenue from Japanese clients — including Toyota, Honda, and Nissan — accounted for 63.8 percent of the Taiwanese firm’s total sales last year, company data showed.
[FULL  STORY]