Business and Finance

VP confident in Taiwan’s economic prospects

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-02-15

Vice President Chen Chien-jen has expressed confidence in Taiwan’s economic prospects.

Chen was speaking at the 2017 Taiwan Excellence awards ceremony Wednesday. He said that Taiwan’s business environment enjoys advantages including a comprehensive industrial chain, agile small and medium enterprises, and a persistent entrepreneurial spirit.

Chen said he believes that Taiwan must rely on itself in order to revive its economy and transform its industries. At the same time, he said that the government has adopted policies meant to stimulate economic restructuring. He said these include plans to expand investment and improve the investing environment.    [FULL  STORY]

Smart City Expo to focus on IoT: organizers

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/15
By: Chung Jung-feng and Ko Lin

Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) The 2017 Smart City Summit & Expo will focus on the development and application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in smart cities, one of the organizers said Wednesday in Taipei.

Smart cities are a crucial field for the application of IoT, which in turn is vital to the realization of intelligent communities, Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance (TSSA) said at a pre-show press conference.

At the expo, experts from various industries are expected showcase smart city applications and speak on topics such as smart building, smart healthcare, smart retail, smart security, intelligent transportation, and sleep technology, the TSSA said.

For the first time, this year’s event will bring together 54 international city officials, including mayors, to share their experience in the area of smart city development, the TSSA said.

GDP forecast revised up to 1.92 percent

DGBAS’ VIEW:Redesigns to Apple Inc’s iPhone series in time for its 10th anniversary later this year are fueling expectations of massive replacement demand, an official said

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 16, 2017
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The government yesterday upgraded its forecast for the nation’s GDP growth this year to 1.92 percent, from the 1.87 percent it predicted three months earlier, saying that an improving global economic environment and stable crude oil prices might boost exports.

The upward revision came after the economy expanded 2.88 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, raising GDP growth to 1.5 percent for the whole of last year, 0.1 percentage points higher than the government’s estimate.

“The global economy is likely to grow slightly faster than predicted in the last forecast, which is favorable for local firms in the supply chain of global technology giants,” Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told a news conference in Taipei.

Taiwan is home to the world’s largest contract chipmakers and chip designers, as well as suppliers of camera lenses, batteries and other critical components used in smartphones, PCs, connected vehicles and Internet of Things applications.
[FULL  STORY]

TSMC’s chairman ‘recovered from fall’

The China Post
Date: February 16, 2017
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — In his first press event since his minor accident over the Lunar New

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) is seen here speaking to the press on Wednesday, Feb. 15. (CNA)

Year holiday, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) Chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) on Wednesday said he was in good health and had already gone back to work.

Chang had suffered minor abrasions from a fall when he and his family were vacationing in Hawaii.

The injuries healed around a week ago, Chang said, adding that his right eye had suffered “a minor bump.”

“It’s still a bit swollen … (I’ve) begun going to work already.”

Bruises around his right eye were still visible, and the coloring would take another one or two weeks to return to normal, he said.

Chang was making his first appearance before local media since his Lunar New Year accident.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei mayor presides over ground-breaking ceremony for MRT Wanda–Zhonghe–Shulin Line

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/14
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News)–Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je presided over the ground-breaking

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je presided over the ground-breaking ceremony on the weekend for two sections of MRT Wanda–Zhonghe–Shulin Line.(By Central News Agency)

ceremony on the weekend for two sections of MRT Wanda–Zhonghe–Shulin Line.

During his speech, the mayor noted that the start of works at these two sites symbolizes that construction of Taipei’s portion of the new MRT line is underway.

According to Ko, the most important factor of the revitalization project for Zhongzheng and Wanhua districts is the MRT Wanda Line. He repeated the difficulties cited by the Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) on building a new line through the older section of the city – narrow roads, crowded pipeline networks, and historical sites, to name a few. Constructions will have to proceed carefully, striking a balance between the schedule and preservation of historical sites.  [FULL  STORY]

TSMC employees earn NT$1.07 million in cash, profit-sharing bonuses

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/14
By: Jackson Chang and Elizabeth Hsu

CNA file photo

Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) Generating historic high revenue and net profit in 2016, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has decided to distribute cash bonuses and profit-sharing bonuses totaling some NT$44.84 billion, meaning that each employee will receive around N$1.07 million (US$34,750).

The board of directors of the world’s largest contract chip maker approved the move Tuesday, according to a statement released by the company that day.

The NT$44.84 billion includes a cash bonus of NT$22.42 million, which was distributed in 2016, and a profit-sharing bonus of the same amount, which will be distributed in July this year, the statement said, noting that the company has 42,000 employees.
[FULL  STORY]

AUO posts best quarterly profit since Q2 2010

BRIGHT OUTLOOK:The LCD panel maker expects growth to continue this year, with global supply rising only 3 percent while demand expands steadily

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 15, 2017
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

LCD panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) yesterday posted its strongest quarterly profit in six years as panel prices rose on strong demand for large and high-resolution TVs during the holiday season.

AUO’s net profit soared 83 percent to NT$8.97 billion (US$290.6 million) in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with NT$4.62 billion in the third quarter, its highest level since the second quarter of 2010.

Its average selling price jumped about 11 percent to US$413 per square meter, from US$372 in the previous quarter.    [FULL  STORY]

Overseas sales to boost Q1 performance: HTC

The China Post
Date: February 15, 2017
By: Kuan-lin Liu

HTC smartphone and connected devices president, Chang Chia-lin (張嘉臨), revealed on Tuesday that the company would post a smaller loss this quarter than it did during the previous.

During a press conference on the firm’s fourth quarter performance, Chang pointed to the overseas launch of HTC U Ultra as a key factor in stimulating the growth of this quarter’s gross margins.

HTC’s flagship phone makes its way onto shelves in Hong Kong and the Middle East this week, Europe and Southeast Asia next week, and in China by the beginning of March.

It is estimated that HTC’s first quarter gross margin would outperform last year’s fourth quarter gross margin of 10.5 percent.    [FULL  STORY]

Gartner estimates almost 3 million personal and commercial drones to be shipped in 2017

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/13
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

An information technology research company estimated in a recent report that almost three million drones will be produced in 2017, 39 percent more than in 2016.

Drones’ popularity in the civil markets (personal and commercial) has not diminished even though these markets have been wading through regulation by various governments, according to Gartner, Inc. The overall drone market will see substantial growth, but the dynamics of the personal and commercial submarkets are very different, Gartner analysts said.

As an affordable extension of consumers’ smartphones for taking photographs and selfies and for other entertainment options, Gartner expects personal drones to continue increasing in popularity. “They can fly a short distance and time, typically no more than 5,000 meters and for one hour, with flight height constrained to within 500 meters. They weigh less than 2 kilograms and are priced less than US$5,000,” the report says.    [FULL  STORY]

Sourcing Taiwan to take place on March 29

Focus Taiwan
Date: 017/02/13
By: Huang Li-yun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) will hold its annual Sourcing Taiwan in Taipei on March 29, with over 500 buyers from nearly 60 countries invited to the event, the semi-official trade promotion agency said Monday.

The centerpiece of the gathering will be one-on-one procurement meetings between Taiwanese suppliers, TAITRA said in a statement, with buyers from such companies as Amazon.com, Newegg, Japan’s Big Camera Inc. and Germany’s Meister Werkzeuge and Osram expected to attend.

Around half of the 500 buyers will be from countries targeted as key markets under the New Southbound Policy to boost trade and economic interactions with Southeast Asia and South Asia, TAITRA said.

They include the Columbia Group, an information communication product maker in Indonesia, and the Coteccons Group, a construction contractor in Vietnam, it said.    [FULL  STORY]