Business and Finance

More aggressive, sporty A5 and S5 available in Taiwan

The China Post
Date: May 23, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Audi unleashed a more aggressive-looking, faster, lighter and technology-packed A5 along with its sports version, the S5, in Taipei, in May, nine years after the first editions were introduced.

Audi considers the two-door the “perfect fusion of form and function.” Similar to A3 and A4, this second-generation A5 really gets more of a facelift rather than a new design as is often the case with new generations.

The new generation of the A5 Coupe is athletic, sporty and elegant. Its design goes hand in hand with its sophisticated aerodynamics. Under the skin, the A5 impresses with an all-new chassis, powerful engines, and innovative infotainment features and driver assistance systems.    [FULL  STORY]

Tsai calls for enhanced Taiwan-EU economic ties

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/22
By: Taiwan Today, Agencies

President Tsai Ing-wen said May 18 that Taiwan and the EU should seek to

President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at the Europe Day Dinner organized by the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan May 18 in Taipei City. (CNA)

strengthen economic and trade ties by concluding an investment agreement as soon as possible, stating that such an accord would benefit companies, consumers and investors on both sides.

The president also expressed gratitude to EU member states, the European Parliament and other institutions for advocating Taiwan’s involvement in international health decisions, adding that she hopes the European bloc will continue to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the international community.

Tsai made the remarks during the Europe Day Dinner organized by the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan in Taipei City. Noting the recent growth in Taiwan-EU ties, she conveyed the government’s determination to further expand these links through such measures as improving the local business environment for foreign enterprises.    [FULL  STORY]

Once a skeptic, Paiwan woman keeping family’s quinoa legacy alive

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/22
By CNA reporter Kuo Chu-chen and staff writer Elizabeth Hsu

Chang Chih-yun (張誌紜) had a good career going, having worked as a physical therapist at a hospital for 17 years. But that did not stop her from quitting this year to keep a promise she made to cultivate a grain she grew up hating and continue a family tradition.

Chang now devotes her time to growing quinoa, which in Taiwan is a traditional aboriginal crop, on her family’s land in Sandimen Township of Pingtung County and carry on the family legacy left by her grandmother, a wine brewer in their tribal community.

The 37-year-old from the Paiwan community, one of 16 officially recognized indigenous peoples in Taiwan, grew up in quinoa fields, she says, recalling watching her grandmother plant the crop from when she was little.
[FULL  STORY]

Export order growth falls short

INVENTORY DIGESTION:Orders for electronics goods grew only 4.1 percent year-on-year, while a surprise slump in the chemicals sector also weighed on growth

Taipei Times
Date: May 23, 2017
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

The nation’s export orders increased 7.4 percent year-on-year to US$35.61 billion last month, falling short of the government’s forecast of annual growth between 16.3 percent and 19.3 percent, due to weaker-than-expected demand for electronics goods, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

The growth momentum is expected to extend into this month as the ministry forecast the export orders would be between US$35.5 billion and US$36.5 billion, a flattish performance from last month’s US$35.61 billion, as the electronics goods sector is expected to continue digesting inventory.

That would translate into a year-on-year increase of between 5.24 percent and 8.21 percent from US$33.73 billion in the same period last year, the ministry said.

“We were very surprised by the results. Orders for electronics goods, which contributed 25.9 percent of total export orders, were affected by the slowing pace of semiconductor inventory digestion,” Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) told a news conference in Taipei.    [FULL  STORY]

Cathay Pacific sacks 600 staff

The China Post
Date: May 22, 2017
By: AP

HONG KONG — Cathay Pacific Airways said Monday it’s laying off nearly 600 staff at its headquarters in its biggest round of firings in two decades as it faces rising competition from rival carriers and tough business conditions.

The Hong Kong airline said it plans to ax about 190 managers, or a quarter of all the company’s management jobs.

It’s also eliminating the jobs of 400 workers in non-managerial roles.

Cathay said in a statement that front-line workers, including pilots and cabin crew, would not be affected, but “will also be asked to deliver greater efficiencies and productivity.”

Hong Kong’s largest airline is making its most sweeping overhaul since 1998, when it slashed nearly 800 jobs amid the Asian financial crisis.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s IC industry sees slight output growth in Q2

PRODUCTION VALUE:The Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center said the industry’s design sector is a bright spot amid manufacturers’ continued weakness

Taipei Times
Date: May 22, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The production value of Taiwan’s integrated circuit (IC) industry is estimated to grow at a quarterly rate of 0.4 percent to NT$573.9 billion (US$19 billion) this quarter, but the figure would remain 4.6 percent lower than the same period last year, the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK) said last week.

The IEK said the output growth momentum for the IC industry would likely see a substantial recovery next quarter at the earliest, with production value reaching NT$696.3 billion, up 21.3 percent quarter-on-quarter and 5.6 percent year-over-year.

The IC industry covers chip design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, with the manufacturing segment accounting for more than 50 percent of the industry’s total production value.

Given the continued weakness among local manufacturers, output of the manufacturing segment is forecast to fall by 6.4 percent sequentially to NT$300.4 billion this quarter, after an 11 percent decline in the first quarter, the center said.
[FULL  STORY]

INTERVIEW: ‘Southbound policy’ needs focus: TIER official

Taipei Times
Date: May 22, 2017

Taipei Times (TT): What does the government’s “new southbound policy” aim to

Taiwan Institute of Economic Research vice president Chiou Jiunn-rong is pictured during an interview in his Taipei office on Nov. 2 last year. Photo: Wang Yi-Sung, Taipei Times

achieve?

Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮): It aims to help local firms cut dependence on China and take advantage of the rapid economic growth in Southeast and South Asia. Most Taiwanese firms focus on producing intermediate goods and services between industries for resale or for the production of other goods.

Under the policy, we should see those nations as both production bases and end markets.

Under the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, local manufacturers were encouraged to produce whatever the Chinese market needed, namely low-priced petrochemical, auto parts and other upstream products. The cross-strait ties focused on a few sectors and misallocated the nation’s resources.

Under the policy, firms would provide clients total solutions by selling a combination of hardware devices and software applications, or a combination of products and their supporting services.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s travel deficit reached US$1.32bn in Q1

Taipei Times
Date: May 22, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwanese spent far more on overseas travel than foreign nationals spent on travel in Taiwan in the first quarter of this year, the fifth consecutive quarter in which the nation ran a travel deficit.

The nation’s travel revenue totaled US$2.94 billion in the first quarter, while overseas travel expenses totaled US$4.26 billion, resulting in a deficit of US$1.32 billion, according to balance of payment statistics released by the central bank on Friday.

It was the second-highest quarterly deficit in the past seven years, which saw soaring numbers of foreign visitors, behind only the US$1.63 billion deficit in the third quarter of last year.    [FULL  STORY] 

Household debt surpasses China, HK

SOARING:Fitch Ratings said it expects Taiwan’s household debt-to-GDP ratio to grow to 84 percent over the next year, as banks have been aggressively extending loans

Taipei Times
Date: May 22, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The debt burden shouldered by the nation’s households was heavier than those in China and Hong Kong largely because of massive home mortgages, Fitch Ratings said on Saturday.

Fitch said in a report that the nation’s household debt accounted for 82.6 percent of GDP in the first half of last year, far higher than the 66.4 percent in Hong Kong and 41.8 percent in China.

Compared with neighboring economies, only South Korea beat Taiwan with a ratio of 90 percent, according to Fitch.

Since 2005, home mortgages have made up more than 50 percent of total household debt in Taiwan, with the ratio hitting a high of 73 percent in 2010 when home prices were soaring, but economic growth has since slowed, Fitch analyst Jenifer Chou (周筱娟) said.    [FULL  STORY]

Nanya remains 4th largest DRAM supplier worldwide in Q1

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/05/20
By: Jackson Chang and Frances Huang

Taipei, May 20 (CNA) Nanya Technology Corp. (南亞), a Taiwan-based dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip maker, remained the world’s fourth largest DRAM supplier in the world in the first quarter, according to market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp.

In a recent research report, TrendForce said Nanya, a DRAM manufacturing arm of conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), posted sales of US$394 million for the January-March period, up 3.6 percent from a quarter earlier because of higher DRAM prices.

Nanya remained the fourth largest DRAM supplier in the quarter, but its market share fell to 2.80 percent from 3.10 percent seen in the fourth quarter of last year.
[FULL  STORY]