The China Post
Date: February 25, 2017
By: Kuan-lin Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — LED manufacturer Lite-On Technology posted a record net profit of NT$9.42 billion last year, company officials said during an earnings conference on Friday.

The company revealed its financial performance for the fourth quarter last year and the year overall. Net profits reached NT$2.59 billion for the fourth quarter with EPS (earnings per share) of NT$1.1. Furthermore, gross margins for the quarter were 6.8 percent, while operating margins hit a company record quarterly high of 6.8 percent (a 1.7 percent year-on-year increase).

Officials credited the quarterly profits to “a better product mix and operating leverage,” evidenced in the NT$63.3 billion made in consolidated sales for the quarter, which marked a 10 percent increase over the same period the previous year. [FULL  STORY]

The gap stood at 14 percent in 2016, down 0.5 percent from the year before.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/24
By: Wendy Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s gender wage gap stood at 14 percent in 2016, down 0.5 percent from the year before, according to the latest statistics released by Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Friday.

Taiwanese women made an average NT$44,168 a month in 2016, the survey said. The figure was 83.61 percent of Taiwanese men’s average monthly income, which stood at NT$52,824.

Meanwhile, the average hourly wage for Taiwanese women was NT$264.6, 86 percent of that of Taiwanese men’s average hourly wage, making it a 14 percent wage gap.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/24
By: Jackson Chang and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (鴻海), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, said Friday that it will set up a joint venture with Japanese telecom giant SoftBank Group Corp. to seek new investment opportunities.

In a statement, Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn outside Taiwan, said that through its subsidiary Foxconn (Far East) Ltd., it will invest US$600 million to set up the joint venture with SoftBank.

Hon Hai is expected to take a 54.5 percent stake in the new company, SoftBank capital APAC Pte. Ltd., according to the statement.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: February 25, 2017
By: Kuan-lin Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — LED manufacturer Lite-On Technology posted a record net profit of

NT$9.42 billion last year, company officials said during an earnings conference on Friday.

The company revealed its financial performance for the fourth quarter last year and the year overall. Net profits reached NT$2.59 billion for the fourth quarter with EPS (earnings per share) of NT$1.1. Furthermore, gross margins for the quarter were 6.8 percent, while operating margins hit a company record quarterly high of 6.8 percent (a 1.7 percent year-on-year increase).

Officials credited the quarterly profits to “a better product mix and operating leverage,” evidenced in the NT$63.3 billion made in consolidated sales for the quarter, which marked a 10 percent increase over the same period the previous year.  [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/22
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Taiwan International Orchid Show 2017 (TIOS 2017), one of the three main

international orchid shows, will introduce VR technology to turn visitors’ mobile phones into virtual dream orchid breeding machines.

The show will be held from March 4 to 13 at Taiwan Orchid Plantation in Houbi District, Tainan City.

The theme of TIOS this year is “Discover Sustainable Orchids”, with four different exhibition halls to present visitors the highlights of the show: ecology, technology, life and exploration.

Taiwan is world famous for orchids. Varieties of special breeds are gestated by artificial pollination between different breeds, creating breeds with all kinds of shapes, colors, and scents. With thousands of different types of orchids, the orchid show attracts visitors all around the world to Tainan, said show organizers, Tainan City Government and Taiwan External Trade Development Council.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/22
By: Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) The smart systems that offer convenience to residents in Taiwan

such as the electronic toll collection (ETC) system used on local freeways, could provide an excellent opportunity for Taiwan to develop contracts with foreign countries, according to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).

The non-profit government-sponsored trade promotion institution recently put together a list of electronics and software-combined system solutions, including ETC, U-Bike, e-Gate at airports, police surveillance systems, e-Bus and smart hospitals, as new tools Taiwan can deploy to secure contracts with foreign governments.

ETC allows motorists to drive on the freeway without having to slow down to pay a toll fee, and the e-Bus system informs commuters of bus arrival times. Such systems will be key products in TAITRA’s trade missions this year, the council revealed. [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: February 23, 2017
By: The China Post news staff with CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Former EVA Air Chairman Chang Kuo-wei — ousted by his half-

brothers in a board-room coup last year — will announce his comeback plan to the airline industry in the next few months, his spokesman was cited as revealing Wednesday.

The spokesman, Nieh Kuo-wei, made the remarks in response to reports that said Chang would launch a new airline this year, with plans to raise NT$2 billion to purchase 10 new aircraft, according to the Central News Agency.

Nieh, a former spokesman for EVA Air, was quoted by CNA as clarifying that the sum of NT$2 billion mentioned in the reports referred to the initial capital needed to set up the new airline, adding that more investment would be injected into the company in the future.

He said the new airline would definitely need airplanes, but the number of planes has yet to be determined, according to CNA. The airline may buy or lease planes, but it was rather impossible to buy all of the planes it needed, Nieh was cited as saying.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/21
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Japan has been the top trading partner for Taiwan in terms of

food products and the main buyer for Taiwan’s high-end agricultural produce. To expand the market, five branded meat product manufacturers will participate in Foodex Japan, Asia’s largest food and beverage trade show, this year from March 7 to 10.

Taiwan’ Bureau of Foreign Trade and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) are jointly organizing a team of exhibitors to fly to Japan to take part in the extravaganza. This year, Yu-ho Foods (羽禾食品), Sings Kout(信功), Kindly(廣大利), Hornliang(浤良) and Hsin Li Hsiang Food Co., Ltd.(新力香) are jumping on the bandwagon to showcase their most popular livestock and poultry food products at the Taiwan Pavilion area at the invitation of National Animal Industry Foundation (NAIF).

The Taiwan Pavilion will be sitting at the fifth exhibition of Makuhari Messe, Chiba, with 123 Taiwanese food and beverage companies to showcase Taiwanese fresh and frozen vegetables and fruits, tea, candies, cookies, pastries, canned foods, dried fruits, liquor, beverages, fermented foods, frozen foods, fish and meats. The pavilion will also feature room-temperature eggs, bacon, hot dogs, braised Dongpo Pork, and processed meat and egg products including salty eggs and century eggs.    [FULL  STORY]