Business and Finance

Taiwan science parks and Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad sign MOU

Four Taiwan institutes including two science parks sign MOU with Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/18
By: Judy Lin,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Three Taiwanese research institutes including The Hsinchu

A building in Hsinchu Science Park.

Science Park Bureau signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) to facilitate academic and technology interchange between the two nations on Tuesday.

Other signatories of the India-Taiwan partnership include National Yunlin University of Science and Technology and the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau.

Taiwan and India relations in industry, academia, and businesses are accelerating, said Wayne Wang (王永狀), Director-General of the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau, who signed the MOU.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan expects 2% GDP growth as IMF forecasts 1.7% for 2017

Focus Taiwan
By: 2017/04/18
By: Huang Li-yun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 18 (CNA) The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) expects Taiwan to see a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of over 2 percent this year, even though the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has maintained its economic growth forecast for Taiwan at 1.7 percent in 2017 and 1.9 percent in the following year.

The ministry expressed optimism Tuesday toward a recovery this year, given that Taiwan has reported export growth for six months in a row and a growth in export orders for seven consecutive months.

As for the first quarter of the year, every walk of life performed well, the MOEA said. With the iPhone 8 to be launched this year, the ministry said it expects growth in the related supply chain.    [FULL  STORY]

Cathay Hospitality to focus on customer loyalty

AN ‘AMAZZING CLUB’:An enrolment target of 68,000 for the company’s loyalty program is possible because 22% of guests at the Madison Taipei are return guests, the company said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 19, 2017
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Cathay Hospitality Management Co (國泰商旅), an affiliate of Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), plans to focus on attracting return guests as traveler numbers stall.

The growing number of players in the sector has also led the company to put its expansion plans on hold this year and next, to give it time to see how the industry is faring.

The company, which operates five hotels in Taiwan under the brands of Madison Taipei (台北慕軒) and Hotel Cozzi (和逸), has a goal of enrolling 68,000 people in its “Amazzing Club” loyalty program over the next 12 months and raising its direct booking rates by 5 percent, general manager Phyllis Chuang (莊婉華) said on Friday.

“The goal is achievable, given that return guests currently account for 22 percent of occupancy at Madison Taipei and 18 percent at two Cozzi outlets in the city,” Chuang said.

However, the number of return guests is lower at its two other hotels and the weakest is at Cozzi Kaohsiung, at 8 percent, Chung said.    [FULL  STORY]

Innolux to invest in water-conservation tech

The China Post
Date: April 19, 2017
By: Kuan-lin Liu

LCD panel manufacturing giant Innolux Corporation announced on Tuesday that it

This undated photo shows Innolux’s advanced water management system that was implemented in 2016. The system is reportedly able to use one single drop of water seven times. (Photo from Innolux)

would take the lead in implementing the i-FM (intelligent facility management) big data, industry 4.0 system that is reportedly able to reuse a single drop of water seven times.

According to Chief Sustainability Officer Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), Innolux is aiming to meet its target of sustainable management of water resources by pairing the Water Resources Agency’s data on water with the current oversight of water-related operations at the company.

Earlier in March, President Tsai Ing-wen declared sustainable water management as the government’s “most important policy responsibility,” after water shortages due to climate change had become a yearly obstacle for both the agricultural and the industrial sectors.    [FULL  STORY]

LG rolls out new smart home appliance series in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/17
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–LG Electronics Taiwan announced Monday a series of IoT smart

LG Electronics Taiwan announced Monday a series of IoT smart home appliances in Taipei.

home appliances in Taipei, including washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, and cleaning robots.

The LG SmartThinQ smart home appliance series is controllable from a far end via a smartphone with the SmartThinQ App, which is available for either the iOS or Android system, LG Taiwan said.

Home appliances of this LG’s latest series will be available on the Taiwan market one after another, beginning in April, according to LG Taiwan.

Jason Kim, President of LG Taiwan, said that two LG WiFi smart home appliances rolled out last year in Taiwan, a cleaning robot and an air purifier, have been well received by the market, and the success has boosted LG’s confidence in Taiwan’s smart home appliances market potential.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares close down 0.17%

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/17
By: Yang Kai-hsiang and Lilian Wu

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed lower Monday as investors grew

(CNA file photo)

cautious, affected by rising geopolitical tensions over North Korea as well as slides in large-cap stocks.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed down 16.53 points, or 0.17 percent, at 9,716.40, after moving between 9,670.11 and 9,762.47. Turnover totaled NT$77.60 billion (US$2.56 billion) during the session.

Most sectors lost ground on Monday, with electronics shares dropping 0.16 percent and financial shares falling 0.33 percent.

Contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC,台積電) fell 0.79 percent to close at NT$187.50, while smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co. (大立光) closed down 0.42 percent to close at NT$4,780, despite a foreign brokerage setting a target price of NT$6,180 for the stock.    [FULL  STORY]

Drugstore chains set for record revenue

MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR:More than 90 percent of the sales by drugstore chains were made in brick-and-mortar stores, as regulations restrict the online sale of medicines

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 18, 2017
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Total revenue of drugstore chain operators is expected to surpass NT$200 billion (US$6.59 billion) for the first time this year, driven by increasing demand for cosmetics, skincare products and health supplements, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

“Female consumers’ increasing purchases of cosmetics and skincare products is expected to be the main growth driver to raise the revenues to a record high this year,” the ministry’s Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) said by telephone.

Wang said the ministry expects an increase in the sales of medical equipments, medicines and health supplements this year, as the nation’s aging index exceeded 100 for the first time in February, suggesting that demand for medical goods will increase.

She said drugstore chain operators, such as Watsons (屈臣氏) and Cosmed (康是美), have been opening new outlets nationwide to grab a larger share of the market, which is expected to positively affect their sales performance this year.    [FULL  STORY]

FPG plant licenses conditionally approved

The China Post
Date: April 18, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Yunlin County Government on Monday conditionally approved a one-

Naphtha cracking plants operated by the Formosa Plastics Group in the southern county of Yunlin will be allowed to burn bituminous coal and petroleum coke for one more year, as the county government renewed on Monday eight operating permits for the petrochemical giant. (CNA)

year extension of eight operating licenses for using bituminous coal and petroleum coke at the Sixth Naphtha Cracking Complex run by Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) in the Mailiao Township of the southern county.

Of the eight operating permits, six were renewed to allow five sets of cogeneration facilities and one petrochemical production line at the No. 3 plant in the complex to burn bituminous coal and another two renewed to permit the use of petroleum coke at the No. 1 plant.

After screening applications filed by the FPG to renew the operating permits based on relevant environmental rules and regulations, the county government approved the renewal on the condition that FPG carry out a seasonal pollution emission reduction project from October to next March and march toward the use of clean or renewable energy, according to a top official with the county’s Environmental Protection Bureau.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s listed firms incur large foreign exchange losses in 2016

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/04/15
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) Enterprises listed in the local equity market incurred massive foreign exchange losses in 2016, when the Taiwan dollar appreciated about 2.44 percent against the U.S. dollar, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

Citing data, the FSC, the top financial regulator in Taiwan, said that the local business sector posted more than NT$130 billion (US$4.28 million) in foreign exchange losses after the Taiwan dollar stopped a three-year losing streak against the greenback last year.

The data showed that the financial sector suffered about NT$122 billion in foreign exchange losses, making up some 90 percent of the total suffered by local listed companies, as life insurers in Taiwan owned a large chunk of foreign currency denominated assets overseas.    [FULL  STORY]

Gartner: Worldwide semiconductor revenue forecast to increase 12.3% in 2017

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/04/16
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–Worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecast to total US$386

Favorable market conditions in the 2nd half of 2016, particularly for commodity memory, have raised market outlook… (photo courtesy of TSMC)

billion in 2017, an increase of 12.3 percent from 2016, according to Gartner, Inc, a leading information technology research and advisory company. .

Favorable market conditions that gained momentum in the second half of 2016, particularly for commodity memory, have accelerated and raised the outlook for the market in 2017 and 2018, according to Gartner. However, the memory market is unstable, and additional capacity in both DRAM and NAND flash is expected to result in a correction in 2019, the research firm said.

“While price increases for both DRAM and NAND flash memory are raising the outlook for the overall semiconductor market, it will also put pressure on margins for system vendors of smartphones, PCs and servers,” said Jon Erensen, research director at Gartner. “Component shortages, a rising bill of materials, and the prospect of having to counter by raising average selling prices (ASPs) will create a volatile market in 2017 and 2018.”    [FULL  STORY]