Business and Finance

Yummy Town buys lemons in bulk as it prepares for expansion

The China Post
Date: March 25, 2017
By: Kuan-lin Liu, The China Post with cnYES

Yummy Town (Cayman) Holdings Corporation signed a purchase contract with Yong-Da Food and Ingredient Company and Pingtung County’s lemon producers on Friday to purchase a large volume of lemons.

The food and beverage company is reportedly stocking up on inventory for a speedy global expansion of Happy Lemon, its lemon-themed beverage chain, this year, the corporation’s chairman Wu Po-tsao (吳伯超) stated.

The current contract sees an expansion from last year’s 50-hectare partnership to 90-hectares, with the production of lemons increasing from 1,260 tons to 1,800 tons.

Wu regarded the partnership between Yummy Town and Yong-Da, which dates back to 2012, as a way for his corporation to acquire quality goods at a reasonable price while providing local farmers with a steady income.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese investors in Thailand encouraged to list shares at home

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/25
By: Tien Yu-pin and Frances Huang

Taipei, March 25 (CNA) The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said it is encouraging Taiwanese investors in Thailand to list on the Taiwan main board, as the Taiwan government continues to push its New Southbound Policy to forge a closer ties with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other countries.

At a recent seminar in Bangkok, the TWSE gave a briefing on Taiwan’s capital market, as part of its efforts to convince Taiwanese companies in Thailand to list in their home market.

TWSE President Lee Chi-hsien (李啟賢) said at the seminar that such listings would allow enterprises to raise funds from the capital market to expand their operations.
[FULL  STORY]

Hon Hai will hire Japanese exec to head Sharp

The China Post
Date: March 25, 2017
By: Christine Chou

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Hon Hai Precision Industry’s (鴻海) chief marketing officer Freddie Yuan (袁學智) said the group would recruit a Japanese executive to head Sharp once the Japanese electronics maker returns to profitability, according to local media reports.

Yuan made the comment during Sharp’s latest product launch in Shanghai on Thursday, where it showcased its new 8K Ultra HD display, 4K TV and other household electrical appliances such as its new air purifier, smart refrigerator and washing machine.

Previously, Sharp president Tai Cheng-wu (戴正吳) told Nikkei that he hopes his successor will be Japanese, ideally younger than 60 years old and with substantial marketing experience.

Tai said he was considering both internal and external candidates for the role, and would choose a final candidate after consulting with Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘).    [FULL  STORY]

Construction up while manufacturing and services down

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-03-24

Taiwan’s construction sector is showing its best performance since 2014, while the

TIER director Sun Ming-der (2nd from right)

manufacturing and service sectors have both dipped from the previous month. That’s according to the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER), the nation’s leading economic think tank.

TIER’s numbers for February suggest manufacturing has dipped for the second straight month, while the service sector ended its two-month climb and fell slightly from January.

TIER director Sun Ming-der expressed concerns over the lackluster performance of both the service and the manufacturing sectors.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan moves to shake off EU yellow card, fines poaching vessel

Focus Taiwan
Date: 17/03/24
By: Yang Shu-min and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, March 24 (CNA) The Council of Agriculture (COA) slapped a fine of NT$1.2 million (US$39,000) Friday on a fishing boat registered in Donggang, Pingtung County in southeastern Taiwan, for illegally operating in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

The move was taken as the Cabinet-level council introduced to the press its newly established fishing activity monitoring center, demonstrating its efforts to shake off a “yellow card” given to Taiwan by the European Union in 2015 for not taking sufficient measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The 24-hour-operating center, which opened in February, is equipped to record the sailing routes of Taiwanese fishing boats operating on the high seas.  [FULL  STORY]

No change in dividend policy: Fubon

TURNAROUND:The financial holding firm said that its investment portfolio’s value has recovered to about NT$4 billion last month, amid a rally in local stock markets

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 25, 2017
By: Ted Chen / Staff reporter

Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) yesterday said that wild swings in the value of its investment portfolio last year would not affect its dividend policy this year.

Fubon Life Insurance (富邦人壽), the company’s largest and most profitable unit, saw the value of its holdings drop from NT$31.7 billion (US$1.04 billion) at the end of the third quarter last year to a loss of NT$6.4 billion at the end of last year.

That compares with a portfolio value of NT$15.6 billion at the end of 2015.

Fubon Financial’s holdings have since recovered to about NT$4 billion at the end of last month amid a rally in local stock markets, chief financial officer Eddie Chen (陳彥松) said.    [FULL  STORY]

Hon Hai will hire Japanese exec to head Sharp

The China Post
Date: March 25, 2017
By: Christine Chou

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Hon Hai Precision Industry’s (鴻海) chief marketing officer Freddie Yuan (袁學智) said the group would recruit a Japanese executive to head Sharp once the Japanese electronics maker returns to profitability, according to local media reports.

Yuan made the comment during Sharp’s latest product launch in Shanghai on Thursday, where it showcased its new 8K Ultra HD display, 4K TV and other household electrical appliances such as its new air purifier, smart refrigerator and washing machine.

Previously, Sharp president Tai Cheng-wu (戴正吳) told Nikkei that he hopes his successor will be Japanese, ideally younger than 60 years old and with substantial marketing experience.

Tai said he was considering both internal and external candidates for the role, and would choose a final candidate after consulting with Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘).

Hon Hai, after becoming the largest shareholder of Sharp last year, is planning to increase global sales of Sharp’s Aquos LCD TVs to between 10 to 12 million units by the end of this year, according to IHS Markit.    [FULL  STORY]

Central bank keeps rates unchanged

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 24, 2017
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The central bank yesterday kept its lenient monetary policy unchanged for the third

Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan, second left, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday following the bank’s quarterly board meeting. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times

consecutive quarter, saying the nation’s output gap continued to widen due to a persistent lack of innovation and investment, despite a stable economic recovery.

“Although crude oil and raw material prices will trend up, the inflation outlook remains benign, leaving room for stimulus measures to prop up the economy,” central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) told a news conference after the bank’s quarterly board meeting.

The bank’s rediscount rate was left unchanged at 1.375 percent, the collateralized loan rate at 1.75 percent and the unsecured loan rate at 3.625 percent.   [FULL  STORY]

HTC refuses comment on layoff rumors, looks to expand VR arm

The China Post
DateL: March 24, 2017
By: Christine Chou

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan-based electronics brand HTC (宏達電) responded to recent layoff rumors on Thursday by choosing not to address the subject head-on, stating that the company would “continue evaluating its personnel arrangements to boost organizational efficiency and competitiveness.”

HTC reported a loss last quarter of NT$3.1 billion (US$100 million) — the seventh seasonal loss in a row.

Local media reports cited an unnamed source as claiming the firm had laid off 10 employees on Wednesday.

The source also added that the firm has plans to recruit new talent and is eyeing Paul Brown, former Sony Music UK director and Spotify managing director, to oversee content and platform development as the CEO of Vive’s European arm. Vive is HTC’s virtual reality (VR) unit.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan likely to remain on U.S. currency watch list: Central Bank

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/23
By:Chiu Po-sheng and Y.F. Low

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Central Bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) on Thursday expressed pessimism about the likelihood of Taiwan being removed from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s foreign exchange intervention monitoring list next month.

Of the three criteria adopted by the U.S. Treasury, Taiwan definitively meets one of them as its current account surplus is above 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Perng said when asked about the issue at a news conference held after the bank’s quarterly board meeting.

He said Taiwanese businesses tend to save more money than they invest, which is reflected in the country’s high level of savings.    [FULL  STORY]