Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/26
By: Jackson Chang and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 26 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed slightly higher Wednesday as markets

around Asia were generally lifted up by overnight gains on Wall Street and European markets, dealers said.

The stock market opened on a positive note on Wednesday, with large-cap electronics stocks showing momentum, but it succumbed to mid-day profit-taking as the index faced resistance above the 9,850-point level, dealers said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 14.74 points, or 0.15 percent, to end at 9,856.45 after moving between 9,827.47 and 9,865.88 on turnover of NT$101.333 billion (US$3.38 billion).    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: April 27, 2017
By: Angela Chu

As it celebrates the milestone of 5,000 vehicles sold in Taiwan’s market, Formosa

Plastics Transport Corp. (FPTC, 台塑汽車貨運股份有限公司) has positioned itself as the leading supplier of commercial vehicles on the island.

Within five years of reintroducing the European brand of Dutch DAF trucks to Taiwan, the company has risen to the top of all European tractor providers and further gained the status as the top truck supplier among all brands in 2014, offering high-quality vehicles that are affordable and meet stringent safety standards.

The company strives to provide only the best in the market by placing itself in the shoes of its customers to understand actual needs and situations on the road, playing a key role in revolutionizing the driving habits of Taiwanese truck drivers.

In the past, FPTC went to great lengths to get in touch with customers by organizing mobile showrooms, road show exhibitions, customer experience centers for DAF trucks and other events.    [FULL  STORY]

Regulations, lack of talent, and funds remain biggest obstacles for Taiwanese startups

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/25
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Speakers made different suggestions on how Taiwan can

improve the startup environment to make it easier for young entrepreneurs to launch their own businesses, at the 2017 Asia Silicon Valley International Summit Forum that took place at Lyon Grand Ballroom at South Garden Hotels and Resorts at Taoyuan City on Tuesday.

There is a general consensus among Taiwan’s private and public sectors that the nation needs to prioritize R&D and innovation for the country to move forward, but many innovative startups are discouraged by the wall of stringent regulations.

“Regulations remain the biggest obstacles for startups,” commented Asia Silicon Valley Development Agency Chief Investment Officer David Weng (翁嘉盛).  [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/25
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) Japanese soba noodle shop Tsuta, which won a Michelin star in

2016 and 2017 for its Tokyo outlet, is scheduled to open a store in Taipei on April 27, its Taiwan sales agent, Hoyii Life (和億生活), said Tuesday.

Taiwan-based Hoyii Life said the Taipei outlet will become Tsuta’s second overseas presence after it opened a shop in Singapore in late 2016.

Tsuta is the world’s first ramen store to be awarded a Michelin star after its chef, Onishi Yuki, opened the first store in Tokyo in January 2012.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: April 26, 2017
By: Kuan-lin Liu

Sodium carbonate, commonly known as soda ash, is one of the main components in

making glass. Shihlien Chemical Industrial Jiangsu Company, a vertical integration of the Taiwan Glass Group, supplies over 600,000 tons of high quality soda ash to Taiwan Glass annually. It is understood that Shihlien Chemical’s current facility of one million tons soda ash and ammonium chloride in annual capacity is the world’s largest single production line of its kind utilizing the Combined-soda Process.

Soda ash is one of most widely produced and used commodity chemical. It serves as the basic ingredient for many chemical processes, and is in large demand in various industries, particularly from the glass, metallurgical, textile, petrochemical, and food sector. With the importance of soda ash in both industrial and civil applications, a country’s production and usage of soda ash are, according to Shihlien Chemical Industrial, indicative of a country’s industrial development.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan department stores, clothing and restaurant industry report lower revenues in March 2017

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/24
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Despite Taiwan’s wholesale sector revenue increasing 6.1

percent year-on-year (YoY) to NT$833.2 billion (US$27.53 billion) in March 2017, the retail sector including department stores, restaurant and hospitably, and luxury product sellers reported weak earnings during the same period, according to statistics released by Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Monday.

Wholesale revenue during the first quarter of 2017 reached the highest growth recorded in the last six years, up 6 percent YoY to NT$2.33 trillion, said Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟), deputy director at Department of Statistics at MOEA.

The nation’s wholesale revenue growth was largely supported by machinery industry, which increased 7.6 percent YoY to NT$340.5 billion, and construction industry’s 13.4 percent YoY to NT$67.4 billion.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/24
By: Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, April 24 (CNA) Taiwan had 31,025 foreign professionals with work permits in the

country as of the end of 2016, with white-collar workers from Japan, the United States and Malaysia the top three sources, according to Ministry of Labor statistics released on Monday.

There were a total of 8,575 Japanese professional workers, accounting for 27.64 percent, followed by 5,251 Americans (16.93 percent), and 2,684 Malaysians (8.65 percent).

The No. 4 to 10 sources were the Philippines (4.85 percent), India (4.70 percent), South Korea (3.49 percent), Canada (3.36 percent), the United Kingdom (3.33 percent), Hong Kong (3.03 percent) and Indonesia (2.72 percent).    [FULL  STORY]