Business and Finance

China group terminates accord to buy ChipMos stake; new deal inked

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/30
By: Jalen Chung and Frances Huang

Taipei, Nov. 30 (CNA) ChipMos Technologies Inc. (南茂), the fourth- largest integrated circuit packaging

ChipMos Chairman S.J. Cheng

ChipMos Chairman S.J. Cheng

and testing firm in Taiwan, has said that it has terminated a deal in which China-based Tsinghua Unigroup (清華紫光) will buy a stake in the Taiwanese firm through a private placement.

But the bilateral ties will not stop here. Both sides announced on the same day that they have agreed that Tsinghua Unigroup will buy a 54.98 percent stake in ChipMos Technologies (Shanghai) Ltd. (上海宏茂), which is currently 100 percent owned by ChipMos.

The termination of the private placement deal, where Tsinghua Unigroup, a Beijing-backed high-tech conglomerate, aimed to take a 25 percent stake in ChipMos, came after Taiwan’s authorities have adopted a prudent stance to scrutinize Chinese investments in the local IC sector.

In late 2015, Tsinghua Unigroup and ChipMos inked an agreement on the private placement and submitted the deal to Taiwan’s Investment Commission for approval.    [FULL  STORY]

Quanta to boost US server production

LOCAL CONTENT:Quanta’s subsidiary has two server assembly facilities in the US, which could benefit if Trump’s US-focused manufacturing promise becomes policy

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 01, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), the world’s largest server and notebook computer manufacturer, plans to expand its server operations in the US in the face of rising demand and US president-elect Donald Trump’s campaign vow to boost US manufacturing, a company executive said.

Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT, 雲達科技), its server subsidiary, plans to expand the production capacity of its two US plants in the next three years, Mike Yang (楊晴華), president of QCT and a senior vice president and general manager at Quanta Computer, said in a report by Nikkei Asian Review.

Yang said that QCT has the “upper hand” should Trump’s campaign promise become policy, as the company already has server assembly facilities in Fremont, California, and Nashville, Tennessee.    [FULL  STORY]

APR eying e-commerce platforms

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 30, 2016
By: Kuo Chia-erh / Staff reporter

Asia Plastics Recycling Holding Ltd (APR, 亞塑再生) yesterday said it plans to begin selling products on China’s e-commerce platforms in the next five years.

APR, which recycles used plastic scrap to make ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam in China, provides materials used for making shoes, water sports utilities, air conditioner parts, packaging and filtering products.

APR said it hopes to reach more potential customers by launching e-commerce services and expanding its sales channels.

“Given uncertainties in the development of new channels, we are now seeking collaborations with existing Chinese e-commerce operators instead of directly operating e-commerce platforms,” spokesman Mark Hsueh (薛又瑋) told an investors’ conference.    [FULL  STORY]

TransAsia to continue with company closure plan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/29
By: Chen Wei-ting and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) TransAsia Airways (復興航空), a Taiwan-based mid-sized international carrier, said 201611290025t0001on Tuesday that its decision to terminate operations remained unchanged and indicated it had sent a letter to that effect to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), Taiwan’s aviation authority, indicating it will accept the CAA’s plan to revoke the airline’s domestic and international flying rights.

The CAA has already fined the troubled airline NT$3 million for canceling all services without prior notification due to financial difficulties on Nov. 22. It gave the troubled airline until Tuesday to either object to the cancellation of its flying rights or present a plan to resume operations.

If TransAsia Airways failed to do so, CAA said it would revoke the company’s flying rights after submitting a report on Wednesday to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.    [FULL  STORY]

MediaTek turns to automotive sector

SLOWING PHONE SALES:The Hsinchu-based chipmaker said that it would also focus on chips for in-vehicle infotainment, telematics and advanced driver-assistance systems

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 30, 2016
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

MediaTek Inc (聯發科), which designs smartphone chips for China’s Xiaomi Corp (小米), yesterday said it plans to produce its first processors for autonomous cars next quarter as the growth of worldwide mobile phone sales decelerates.

The company’s announcement also came about one month after bigger rival Qualcomm Inc unveiled a US$47 billion acquisition of the world’s biggest automotive chip supplier, NXP Semiconductors NV, to expand its businesses beyond mobile phones.

“Automotive is a segment that is forecast to have a higher growth rate than other applications for the semiconductor industry. That is why most semiconductor companies have actively tapped into the automotive segment in recent years,” MediaTek New Business Department general manager J.C. Hsu (徐敬全) told a news conference.

The composite annual growth rate of the automotive semiconductor sector is forecast to grow by as much as 7 percent from this year to 2020, surpassing the worldwide vehicle growth rate of 3 percent, Hsu said, citing an unspecified market researcher’s projection.    [FULL  STORY]

Huawei releases Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro

The China Post
Date: November 30, 2016
By: Kuan-lin Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Huawei officially launched its new Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro smartphones in Taiwan on

Models at the Huawei Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro release take selfies with the phones, Tuesday, Nov. 29. The phone, with Leica's dual-lens camera, features the most advanced camera technology in a smartphone, allowing users to take 20 megapixel photos that look clear both zoomed-in and out. (Christine Chou, The China Post)

Models at the Huawei Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro release take selfies with the phones, Tuesday, Nov. 29. The phone, with Leica’s dual-lens camera, features the most advanced camera technology in a smartphone, allowing users to take 20 megapixel photos that look clear both zoomed-in and out. (Christine Chou, The China Post)

Monday.

The Mate 9 series was co-engineered with renowned camera company Leica and comes equipped with Leica’s second generation dual-lens camera technology.

Tang Ting-feng (唐鼎烽), a product manager with Huawei’s Taiwanese distributor Xunwei Technologies Co. (訊崴科技), said the Mate 9 phones would be revolutionary with regard to their speed, safety and camera technology.

Rock legend and Huawei brand ambassador Wu Bai (伍佰) made an appearance at the event, where he praised the phone’s texture, sleek design and camera.

Wu, an avid photographer, said the phone’s Summarit lens gave users of the phone top-quality Leica camera technology at an affordable price.

Models at the Huawei Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro release take selfies with the phones, Tuesday, Nov. 29. The phone, with Leica’s dual-lens camera, features the most advanced camera technology in a smartphone, allowing users to take 20 megapixel photos that look clear both zoomed-in and out. (Christine Chou, The China Post)

While Yung did not spell out specific goals for the Mate 9 and the Mate 9 Pro, he did say these models would allow Huawei to further expand into the Taiwanese smartphone market.    [FULL  STORY]

CAL to launch Taipei-Amsterdam direct flights

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/28
By: Wang Su-fen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) China Airlines (CAL), Taiwan’s largest carrier, said Monday it will launch direct AC-738flights between Taipei and Amsterdam in December to increase its competitiveness in Europe.

CAL currently offers Taipei-Amsterdam flights via Bangkok. The launch of the new service is expected to cut travel time between the two cities by four hours, to 14 hours.

The carrier said it will operate four flights a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

In addition, from Jan. 9, 2017, CAL will fly the route with a new Airbus A350, and begin code sharing flights with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.    [FULL  STORY]

Consumer confidence plummeting: index

UNCERTAINTY:Investors were wary that foreign institutional funds planned to move assets from the local market amid fears of a rise in US protectionism, an academic said

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 29, 2016
By: Kuo Chia-erh / Staff reporter

The nation’s consumer confidence index dropped to 77.71 this month, its lowest level in three years, as consumers turn more pessimistic on the outlook of stock investments, a survey by National Central University showed yesterday.

The figure dropped 1.24 points from last month’s 78.95, with all six sub-indices falling, the survey showed.

The sub-index on stock investments declined the most, registering a drop of 5.7 points from last month to 66.9 this month.

“Stock investors turned gloomy this month after Trump was declared the winner of the US presidential election,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), a professor of economics and director of the university’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, which helped conduct the survey.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan urges European Union to sign bilateral investment accord

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/11/28
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Taiwan has urged the European Union (EU) to sign a bilateral investment 201611280022t0001-1agreement as soon as possible in order to create a better investment climate for businesses, according to a statement issued on Monday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

At an annual bilateral economic and trade consultation meeting held recently in Brussels, the two sides discussed technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) and pharmaceutical rules, as well as intellectual property rights, the MOEA said in its statement.

The two sides also exchanged views on manufacturing, telecommunications, government procurement, cooperation between customs agencies, anti-fraud operations, accords on trade in services and environmental goods, as well as other issues relating to the World Trade Organization, it added.    [FULL  STORY]

Economy still recovering, monitor says

FESTIVE FINANCE:Growth momentum is likely to sustain for the rest of the year on demand for electronics ahead of Christmas and the Lunar New Year, an official said

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 29, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

The government’s business climate monitor last month flashed “green” for the fourth consecutive month, indicating that the economy is still on track for recovery, the National Development Council said yesterday.

“The indicators showed that the economy is recovering on a steady and firm pace,” Department of Economic Development Director Wu Ming-huei (吳明蕙) told a news conference.

The council’s monitoring indicators measure growth or decline in nine areas of the economy.

The total score of the monitoring indicators rose one point to 24 last month, driven by better exports and industrial production as global demand for next-generation consumer electronics devices picked up, Wu said.    [FULL  STORY]