Business and Finance

Lite-On optimistic about revenue growth for year

CONSIDERED:Building plants and developing an ecosystem for manufacturing is expensive, Lite-On said, dismissing Trump’s push to move industry to the US

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 12, 2017
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Electronics parts maker Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) expects revenue to grow by a single-digit percentage this year, attributed to rising demand for units used in cloud-computing servers, high-end camera modules and LED lighting, company executives said yesterday.

“These three products are likely to account for 30 percent of the company’s overall revenue this year, up from about 20 percent last year,” Lite-On said.

“Growth of the company’s bottom line is likely to outpace revenue growth this year, as Lite-On has been focusing on developing new and higher-margin products,” chief executive officer Warren Chen (陳廣中) told a media briefing yesterday.

“We recorded 6 percent annual growth in revenue last year, which is an uphill battle for same-scale companies like Lite-On to achieve,” Chen said. “We expect to see mild growth this year, too.”    [FULL  STORY]

Lungyen denies CNS acquisition report rumors

The China Post
Date: January 12, 2017
By: Christine Chou

A joint plan between Far Eastone Telecommunications (遠傳電信) and Morgan Stanley’s private equity

Lungyen Group chairman Lee Shih-tsung is seen in this undated photo. Lungyen was reported to be one of the potential buyers of the cable-TV operator China Network Systems. (Courtesy of CnYes)

arm to acquire Taiwan’s largest cable TV operator China Network Systems (CNS, 中嘉網路) has reportedly failed, as new reports of a new buyer have emerged.

Far Eastone said Wednesday it reached out to the seller to confirm the news report, as well as to ensure them that they had not withdrawn from the deal.

The telecoms company also expressed hope that the National Communications Commission (NCC) would give them the regulatory green light soon.

“This acquisition is the biggest foreign investment deal the nation has seen in recent years. We hope it can be seen in a fair, objective light as it would help the development of digital convergence in Taiwan,” Far Eastone’s statement read.

Local newspaper Economic Daily News reported CNS’ majority shareholder MBK Partners, a Korea-based private equity fund, expects Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPE Asia) to withdraw from the acquisition since they believe the deal “will never receive regulatory approval.”   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan seeking public input on draft act to draw foreign talent

NDC is actively soliciting input from the public on a new bill to attract foreign professionals to live and stay in Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/10
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News) — The National Development Council (NDC) is actively soliciting input from the public on a new draft bill to encourage foreign professional talent to work and live in Taiwan.

The NDC has posted detailed information on the draft Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professional Talent on the Join Platform with the objective of getting direct feedback from both foreign nationals and Taiwanese citizens on fine tuning the details to better improve the environment for foreign professionals.

On Oct. 19 of 2016, the Executive Yuan approved at program titled “Perfect Taiwan’s Environment for Retaining Talent” which presented 27 reform strategies in seven major areas to address problems foreign professionals encounter when coming to and residing in Taiwan. The seven major areas include visa, work, residence, finance, tax, insurance, and international living environment.

Some salient examples of these 27 reform strategies include plans to open up the new pension system to APRC holders, provide resident rights for children of foreign nationals, loosen permit applications for spouses of foreign talent, address the relinquishment of nationality issue, facilitate the process for foreigners to apply for credit cards, avoid double taxation, and relax regulations on the driver’s license test.    [FULL  STORY]

Hon Hai announces first fall in annual sales since 1991

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/10
By: Jalen Chung and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 10 (CNA) Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (鴻海), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, announced that consolidated sales for 2016 fell from a year earlier, the first time the iPhone assembler has suffered a year-on-year fall in revenue since it was listed on Taiwan’s main board in 1991.

Market analysts said that the fall in sales reflected lower than expected shipments of the iPhone 7 model, the latest Apple Inc. smartphone, which went on sale globally in September 2016.

Last year, Hon Hai posted NT$4.36 trillion (US$136 billion) in consolidated sales, down 2.81 percent from 2015, when revenue hit a record high of NT$4.48 trillion, the company’s data showed.

The sales data was released after the local stock market closed on Tuesday. Ahead of the data, shares in Hon Hai rose 0.60 percent to close at NT$84.00 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, where the weighted index edged up 0.08 percent to end the day at 9,349.64 points.    [FULL  STORY]

Far EasTone aims to add 1m 4G users

CONSOLIDATION?Due to fierce competition, the nation’s five telecoms operators offer flat rates for 4G services, even though the plans are inhibiting their profits

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 11, 2017
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) yesterday said it aims to add 1 million 4G users to its customer base this year to stave of the threat of revenue stagnation amid intensifying market competition.

That would bring the nation’s No. 3 telecom operator’s total number of 4G subscribers to 5.5 million.

The company’s 4.5 million 4G users as of the end of last year made up 62 percent of its mobile service subscribers.

Far EastTone forecast the nation’s 4G penetration rate this year would climb to between 70 percent and 75 percent of mobile users from last year’s 60 percent.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan gets Google’s live transit updates

The China Post
Date: January 11, 2017
By: Christine Chou

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Catching the bus just got a bit easier.

This image shows a display of multiple bus options and live arrival times at the MRT Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station, a bus stop near the iconic skyscraper. (Photo courtesy of Google)

Google Transit, a real-time bus and railway tracking feature in the Google Maps app, officially launched in Taiwan on Tuesday.

Now instead of just seeing bus and metro choices in the Maps app, you can see the bus’s estimated arrival as reported by the transit operator in real time.

Google said the transport information service would provide commuters with nationwide railway data feeds.

In the initial roll-out, the feature will be available for use in five major cities: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung.

Coming Soon to More Cities Near You

Google said its developers would continue working on adding new transit options and cities for the new feature, with Tainan City among the regions to support Google Transit in the next round.

With the added feature, whenever users type in their place of departure and destination point, the system will run calculations and show them public transport routes and required waiting times.

The company said this tool would help users who rely heavily on public transport to more efficiently plan their trips.    [FULL  STORY]

ITRI introduces Intelligent Vision System for Companion Robots at CES 2017

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/09
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a nonprofit R&D organization engaging in

ITRI’s Intelligent Vision System robot can play chess

applied research and technical services, introduced its Intelligent Vision System for Companion Robots at CES 2017.

Potential partners and attendees are invited to booth #2015, Tech East, Westgate, to play chess and have coffee with a robot commanded by ITRI’s Intelligent Vision System.

ITRI’s Intelligent Vision System enables robots and other machines to interpret the visual world, act on visual information, and learn from experience, ITRI said. The Intelligent Vision System can be applied to consumer and industrial requirements, ITRI added.

In a companion robot application, a robot equipped with ITRI’s Intelligent Vision System could perform household tasks such as setting and clearing a table, and assisting seniors or disabled people with drink refills and meal preparation, while continually improving its performance based on experience, according to ITRI.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan reports 3rd consecutive month of export growth (update)

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/09
By: Chiu Po-sheng, Huang Li-yun and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 9 (CNA) Taiwan’s exports grew year-on-year for the third consecutive month in December because of strong global demand for electronic gadgets and a rebound in raw material prices, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.

In December, Taiwan’s outbound sales rose 14 percent from a year earlier to US$25.7 billion, making it the third straight monthly year-on-year increase, the MOF said.

The December figure was also 1.4 percent higher than the previous month, the data showed.

The ministry said the December increase in exports was the highest year-on-year growth for a single month since January 2013, when the country’s outbound sales rose 21.94 percent from the same period the previous year.   [FULL  STORY]

Petrochemicals demand boosts FPG

YEAR-END BONUS:About 30,000 FPG employees are expected to be paid bonuses equal to six times their monthly salary this year, as company earnings remained high

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 10, 2017
By: Kuo Chia-erh / Staff reporter

Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團), the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday said net profits of its four main companies grew 46.8 percent last year from the previous year, on the back of robust demand for petrochemical products.

The group’s four major units — Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC, 台塑石化), Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠), Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維) and Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠) — last year saw their combined net income reach NT$207.7 billion (US$6.5 billion), with total sales dropping 8.9 percent to NT$1.32 trillion from the previous year.

FPCC, the nation’s only listed oil refiner, posted the highest earnings growth among the four major units.

The oil refiner reported a 60.1 percent year-on-year rise in net profits of NT$75.7 billion, while sales dropped 13.2 percent annually to NT$546.1 billion.    [FULL  STORY]

CAL’s A350 wins best design awards

The China Post
Date: January 10, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI — The business class cabin of China Airlines’ (CAL) new A350 aircraft has been given a thumbs-

This undated photo provided by China Airlines shows business class seats on its new A350 aircraft. (CNA)

up by TheDesignAir, the world’s leading aviation design resource, garnering the Best New Business Class and the Best Business Class Design awards for 2016.

The carrier’s A350 cabin won both the titles under the TheDesignAir Readers Poll Awards and the TheDesignAir Awards for 2016, and was praised as a product that “reflects the 777 cabin, but with an all new colour and trim and new hard product details.”

“The original cabin was designed by Ray Chen, but the China Airlines design team have added flourishes to act as a point of difference between the A350 and the Boeing 777-300ER business class cabins,” TheDesignAir commented.

The Readers Poll Awards and the TheDesignAir Awards are TheDesignAir’s annual rating on carriers that focus on aircraft cabin design and brand.    [FULL  STORY]