Business and Finance

Machinery firms losing to China: Hiwin

LAGGING:The nation’s transition to ‘industry 4.0’ should be a gradual process, as many local companies are obsolete, Hiwin Technologies chairman Eric Chuo said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 22, 2017
By: Kuo Chia-erh / Staff reporter

Taiwanese machinery companies are likely to be surpassed by their Chinese rivals over the next five or 10 years as they fall behind in competitiveness, Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技) chairman Eric Chuo (卓永財) told a forum in Taipei yesterday.

Hiwin is one of the nation’s leading machinery makers, distributing ball screws, liner guideways and industrial robots to its global clients.

Chuo said the government has been “unpractical” in its promotion of the nation’s long-term industrial development, neglecting the real challenge facing the industry.

The transition to “industry 4.0” should be a gradual process, since many local companies are obsolete, including those that make hand tools and metal hardware, Chuo added.    [FULL  STORY]

GlobalWafers issues most GDS by Taiwan firm in over 3 years

The China Post
Date: April 21, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — GlobalWafers Co. (環球晶圓), a leading silicon wafer supplier in

(CNA) GlobalWafers said on Friday that it raised US$469 million, or about NT$14.28 billion, in less than one month through sales of global depository shares.

Taiwan, has issued the largest global depositary shares (GDS) by a company listed on the local equity market in more than three years.

In a statement, GlobalWafers said on Friday that it raised US$469 million, or about NT$14.28 billion, in less than one month through sales of (GDS), the largest overseas fund raising activity of this kind by a local enterprise since November 2013.

The company said it has issued 68 million GDS, each one representing one GlobalWafers common share at US$6.9, or NT$210. The issue price represented a 5.6 percent discount on the company’s closing price of NT$222.5 on the local over-the-counter (OTC) market on Thursday.    [FULL  STORY]

Cabinet drafts bill to attract skilled overseas workers

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-20

The Cabinet on Thursday approved a draft bill allowing local companies to recruit skilled overseas workers. The move will relax regulations for skilled workers from places including Hong Kong and Macau to take up jobs in Taiwan.

The bill would provide work permits and residency status for workers in specific professions. Their period of stay will be extended from the current three years to five years. The new bill will not require them to stay up to 183 days every year in order to be exempt from income tax liability in the country of work.

The bill will also allow skilled workers to get six-month visas to find work in Taiwan. However, the jobs they apply must have a minimum monthly salary of NT$48,000 (US$1,600). In addition, overseas students from selected universities will be eligible to apply for internships. That includes students who have graduated from these universities within the last two years.    [FULL  STORY]

TSS offers advice for Taiwan FinTech startups

Taiwan Startup Stadium (TSS) notes its time for FinTech startups to stop the blame game

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/21
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan Startup Stadium (TSS), a National Science Council

Holly Harrington, General Manager of Taiwan Startup Stadium offers her observations on what’s holding back FinTech developments in Taiwan. (By Taiwan News)

backed organization to facilitate Taiwan assessed some of the challenges ahead for Taiwan’s FinTech industry at the first Hit FinTech forum hosted by Chinese-language media Knowing, Thursday.

Nearing its second anniversary, TSS is headed by American citizen Holly Harrington.

The Maryland native showed in her presentation that Taiwan has to stop blaming the government for hindering innovative FinTech developments because everyone is responsible.

Starting with some fields that the government can work on, she noted the nation’s online taxation system, an early example of FinTech could improve and integrate web elements for a seamless user experience.    [FULL  STORY]

0China Airlines to launch flights with cartoon bear theme

Focus Taiwan
Date: 017/04/20
By Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, April 20 (CNA) China Airlines (CAL) said on Thursday it will launch flights to Japan using an aircraft featuring three cartoon bear characters and decorated with images representing Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau, Kaohsiung City and Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan.

The jet, dubbed “Buddy Bears,” is decorated with images of “Oh!Bear,” “Hero” and “Kumamon” which it is hoped will help boost tourism, CAL said.

“The cute and playful ambassadors for tourism will join passengers in the sky, market Taiwan on the international stage and highlight the friendship between Taiwan and Japan,” the carrier said in a statement.    [FULL  STORY]

Export orders jump 12.3 percent yearly

SLOW SEASON:The ministry forecast that export orders would slide this month due to seasonal factors, but the estimate would still represent a double-digit annual rise

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 21, 2017
By Lauly Li / Staff reporter

The nation’s export orders last month increased 12.3 percent year-on-year to US$41.12 billion, the best monthly performance for March on record, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

“The results were mainly driven by stronger-than-expected orders from China and Hong Kong for large flat panels used in TVs,” Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) told a news conference.

The growth momentum exceeded the ministry’s forecast of between 2 percent and 5 percent annual growth, Lin said.

Orders for precision instruments — including equipment used in the production of flat panels — last month rose 39.3 percent annually to US$2.42 billion, the fifth straight month of growth, while orders for information and communications technology products grew 10.4 percent to US$11.37 billion and electronics orders expanded 11.9 percent to US$10.72 billion, Lin said.    [FULL  STORY]

Pegatron announces equipment spending

BETTING ON APPLE:The company is to invest NT$1.08bn to buy manufacturing equipment for Pegaglobe and is also spending NT$1.33bn on Protek Shanghai

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 20, 2017
By: Lauly Li . / Staff reporter

Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday announced it is to spend NT$2.41 billion (US$79.23 million) purchasing equipment for its manufacturing facilities in China as it is expected to start producing Apple Inc’s latest iPhones.

“The investment is part of the company’s plan for this year’s production,” a Pegatron investor relations official said by telephone.

Pegatron is to invest NT$1.08 billion to buy manufacturing equipment for its subsidiary Pegaglobe (Kunshan) Co Ltd (世碩電子) and to spend NT$1.33 billion on subsidiary Protek Shanghai Ltd (昌碩科技), it said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan eyes opportunities in precision medicine industry

Taiwan’s strong medical background could transform it into an Asian hub for precision medicine

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/20
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s biotech and pharmaceutical industry was one of the

Medical and health experts at Taiwan’s Precision Medicine Industry Forum 2017. (Photo courtesy of BioTaiwan)

first to be named in the original Tsai Administration’s 5+2 economic policy to transform the nation’s economic structure, and is viewed as the upcoming medical treatment trend that Taiwan cannot miss out on, said Johnsee Lee (李鐘熙), the Honorary Chairman of Taiwan Bio Industry Organization (Taiwan BIO) during the Precision Medicine Industry Forum 2017 in Taipei, Wednesday.

“Even though we’ve seen some of Taiwan’s industry wane or are face intensified competition, Taiwan’s local medicine capacity remains strong,” said PricewaterhouseCoopers Taiwan Chairman Chang Ming-Huei (張明輝).
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares tumble due to global geopolitical risks

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/19
By: Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 19 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan on Wednesday fell below their quarterly moving average of 9,704 points to their lowest close since March 10 as investors reacted nervously to the call for general elections in Britain on June 8, dealers said.

The announcement by Prime Minister Theresa May to hold an early election to prevent “political game-playing” ahead of Brexit and give Britain the “strong and stable leadership” needed to deliver Brexit sent European and U.S. stocks lower, and Asia reacted the same way.

Taiwan shares closed down 106.62 points, or 1.09 percent, at 9,639.94, after moving between 9,725.39 and 9,631.64 on turnover of NT$87.38 billion (US$2.87 billion).

An increasingly uncertain international situation and heavy foreign exchange losses incurred by listed companies in the first quarter led all major stock categories to lose ground during the session Wednesday.    [FULL  STORY]

GDP to grow 2.11% this year, CIER says

FORECAST HIKES:Drastic changes in global crude oil prices would hurt growth, but that is unlikely given global inventories and US shale oil production, the CIER president said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 20, 2017
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for this year’s GDP growth from 1.73 percent to 2.11 percent, saying that the recovering global economy would benefit the nation’s exports and private investments.

“The stronger-than-expected momentum of the global economic recovery was the main reason CIER increased the forecast,” CIER president Wu Chung-shu (吳中書) told a news conference in Taipei.

With the nation’s exports’ performance steadily gaining momentum since the second half of last year, CIER is also raising its estimate for this year’s exports, Wu said.

However, domestic demand would contribute 1.57 percentage points of the 2.11 percent growth estimate, Wu said.    [FULL  STORY]