Business and Finance

Number of furloughed workers in Taiwan down in December

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/03
By:2 Yu Hsiao-han and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) The number of workers on unpaid leave in Taiwan in the second half of December fell from the first half of the month, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

As of Dec. 31, the number of workers who agreed to go on furlough was 529, down from 556 in the first two weeks of the month, the ministry said.

In addition, the number of employers implementing unpaid leave also fell in the last half of December, dropping from 24 in the first two weeks to 21, the MOL data showed.

During the period Dec. 16-31, four employers terminated their unpaid leave programs, but an additional one started the program, the ministry said.

Most of the companies that had employees on unpaid leave were small enterprises with a workforce of fewer than 50, according to the MOL.    [FULL  STORY]

Advantech to buy major stake in Kostec

MEDICAL DISPLAY:The acquisition can help Advantech broaden its smart medical care product lineup and expand to North America, South Korea and Southeast Asia

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 04, 2017
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Advantech Co (研華), the world’s biggest industrial computer maker, yesterday said it plans to acquire a 60 percent stake in medical display supplier Kostec Co Ltd, as it moves to expand its presence in the medical care market.

This is the first acquisition bid launched by Advantech in the medical field, with the 35-year-old company aiming to get a bigger slice of the global medical display market.

The investment would allow Advantech to broaden its smart medical care product lineups and expand its reach to South Korea, Southeast Asia and North America, the company said in a statement released yesterday.

Advantech has already built a presence in Greater China, the Middle East, Australia and Europe, the statement said.    [FULL  STORY]

New work week rules may affect real GDP growth: economists

Economists predict the new work week rules will increase business costs and lead to higher inflation, dragging down GDP

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/02
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, Jan. 2 — Newly implemented work week rules are expected to increase business costs and

(By Central News Agency)

contribute to higher inflation, which could drag down Taiwan’s gross domestic product growth, economists said Monday.

The new rules took effect on Dec. 23 after the Legislature revised the Labor Standards Act despite strong protests from labor groups, which strongly opposed cutting the number of national holidays per year from 19 to 12 in exchange for instituting the five-day work week.

Under the new rules, total maximum working hours have been reduced to 40 hours a week from 84 hours every two weeks previously, and workers are now entitled to one mandatory day off and one “flexible” rest day a week, all measures that could increase operating costs.

Employers face stiff overtime costs if they have employees work on the “flexible” day off and must provide a matching day off and overtime pay to employees for working on the mandatory day off.   [FULL  STORY]

Small investment program to kick off on Jan. 16

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/02
By: Tien Yu-pin and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) A plan that makes expensive stocks and other securities more accessible to retail investors will be launched on Jan. 16, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE).

Under the plan, which was recently approved by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), Taiwan’s financial regulator, retail investors will be able to invest fixed amounts at regular intervals in stocks and exchange traded funds.

The small investment program was designed in response to complaints from retail investors who said they could not afford such expensive stocks as smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co. (大立光), which closed at NT$3,790.00 (US$118) on Friday.

Shares in Taiwan are usually sold in minimum blocks of 1,000 shares, meaning investors would have to spend at least NT$3.79 million to buy Largan stock, an amount often out of their reach.  [FULL  STORY]

Property transactions increase mildly

IMPROVING SENTIMENT:Sellers in Taipei regained some confidence after the city floated plans to cut the housing tax to ease the burden on homeowners, an analyst said

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 03, 2017
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Major property brokers saw transactions increase mildly last month, driven by real demand from people wanting to move house ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋), the nation’s only listed broker, reported a 3.5 percent monthly increase in transactions, mostly in Taoyuan and Taichung, thanks to their relatively affordable housing prices, Sinyi researcher Tseng Ching-der (增進德) said.

“The pickup is modest despite the high sales season, as buyers generally remained conservative and sellers grew less eager to grant concessions after the government indicated plans to lower holding costs,” Tseng said in a statement.

Transactions picked up 17.3 percent in Taoyuan and 10.5 percent in Taichung last month from a month earlier, but shrank 10 percent in Taipei, 5.8 percent in New Taipei City and 9.6 percent in Kaohsiung, Tseng said, citing internal data.    [FULL  STORY]

Tainted oil instant noodle brand dissolved

The China Post
Date: January 3, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Master Kong (Taiwan) Foods Co., Ltd. an affiliate of the embattled Ting Hsin International Group, has been dissolved, a company official announced Monday.

Chia Hsien-der, vice president of Ting Hsin’s public affairs office, told local press that the decision to disband the company was based on a resolution made at a recent meeting of the group’s board of directors.

Chia said that the dissolution would not affect the listing of depository receipts issued by Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp., the parent firm of Master Kong.

Master Kong (Taiwan) had engaged in the import of food-processing machinery equipment, which it leased to Wei Chuan Foods Corp. for the contract production of Master Kong Instant Noodles, the company spokesman said.    [FULL  STORY]

IHS Markit: global advertising revenue to hit US$532 billion in 2016 as TV’s reign nears its end

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

Big brand budgets and quadrennial events such as the Olympics, European Football Championship and US Presidential Election would drive 2016’s global advertising revenue growth to US$532 billion, according to an IHS Markit report on Friday.

The new figures released by IHS Markit are from the annual Global Advertising Trends report from IHS Technology’s Advertising Intelligence Service.

“The advertising industry is about to turn the corner thanks to the global economy getting back on track,” said Eleni Marouli, principal analyst, IHS Technology, and report author.

Advertising revenue would grow 7.1 percent in 2016 to US$532 billion. Strong growth in global real private consumption also buoyed advertising revenue as brands tried to take advantage of heightened consumer spending. Advertising revenue accounted for 0.69 percent of global GDP in 2016, up from 0.66 percent in 2015, the report said.    [FULL  STORY]

Domestic fuel prices to rise as int’l crude oil prices hike

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/01
By: Huang Li-yun and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, Jan. 1 (CNA) The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for household use (bottled gas) will increase by NT$1.00 (US$0.031) per kilogram starting on Monday, CPC Corp. Taiwan (中油) said on Sunday.

Industrial-grade propane, butane and propane-butane mixture will also increase by NT$1.00 per kg, as the LPG for bi-fuel cars rises NT$0.50 per kg, said the state-owned fuel supplier.

The price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will go up by 2.99 percent starting on Monday.

As a result, food stands which use 15 bottles of bottled gas per month will pay NT$300 more and household that uses 30 to 45 cubic meters of LNG per month in northern Taiwan will pay an extra NT$7.50 to NT$11.25, CPC said.   [FULL  STORY]

TSMC bolsters semiconductor market

PRODUCTION BOOST:The company is planning to invest about NT$550 billion in the Central Taiwan Science Park over the next two years to fill orders for its major clients

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 02, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) contributed the most to the market capitalization growth of Taiwanese semiconductor shares last year, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed.

The local bourse closed trading for the year on Friday last week with the cap of total semiconductor shares in the market having increased by NT$1.02 trillion (US$31.6 billion) to about NT$7 trillion last year, up 17.4 percent from 2015, the data showed.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, last year posted a market cap increase of NT$998.3 billion, up 26.92 percent from the previous year and making it the biggest contributor to the NT$7 trillion market capitalization of the sector.

The Hsinchu-based company last year registered a market capitalization of NT$4.7 trillion, accounting for 67 percent of the sector’s total.    [FULL  STORY]

Hon Hai invests nearly US$9 bil. in China plant; US prospects less clear

The China Post
Dater: January 1, 2017
By: AFP

BEIJING — Taiwan tech-giant Hon Hai (also known as Foxconn) plans to build an US$8.8 billion factory in China, state media said Saturday, amid reports its billionaire boss is cooling off on future U.S. investments.

Hon Hai, a major Apple supplier, will spend the vast sum on an industrial complex in the sprawling southern city of Guangzhou.

The factory will make large-screen liquid crystal displays (LCD), the firm said at an event in the Chinese city on Friday. It will be operational by 2019.

“We have in China a government that knows how to be efficient and supports new technology,” said Hon Hai President Terry Gou in an interview with China’s 21st Century Business.    [FULL  STORY]