Business and Finance

Mega report blames 2 ex-ministers

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-07
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A government report about alleged scandals at the stare-run Mega Financial

Ex-Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford (left) and ex-FSC chief Tseng Ming-chung.

Ex-Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford (left) and ex-FSC chief Tseng Ming-chung.

Holding said Friday former Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford and former Financial Supervisory Commission head Tseng Ming-chung had to share the blame for the affair.

Controversy erupted after regulatory authorities in New York State fined the local branch of the holding’s Mega International Commercial Bank US$180 million in connection with alleged questionable transactions with its Panama branch. The phrase was widely believed to refer to money laundering.

The problems with Mega began, festered and nearly exploded during Chang’s four years in office and Tseng’s two-and-a-half years at the FSC, showing both men should shoulder some responsibility, according to government spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung.

The report, drawn up by a special commission set up by the Cabinet, will be passed on to the Control Yuan, the nation’s top government watchdog. If necessary, the Yuan can take disciplinary actions against present and former government officials.     [FULL  STORY]

TSMC Q3 sales hit high, surpassing target

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/07
By: Jackson Chang and Frances Huang

Taipei, Oct. 7 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest 201610070024t0001contract chip maker, reported a new quarterly high in sales for the third quarter of this year as market analysts attributed the growth to solid global demand for smartphones.

During the July-September period, TSMC posted NT$260.41 billion (US$8.27 billion) in consolidated sales, up 17.4 percent from the second quarter. The third-quarter sales also beat the company’s earlier guidance of between NT$254 billion and NT$257 billion, the chip maker’s data shows.

As the market believes that TSMC is the sole supplier of the A10 processor for Apple’s latest iPhone models, analysts said that the chip maker has benefited from the launch of the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus in September, which gave a boost to the Taiwanese firm’s shipments in the third quarter.

TSMC reported its latest sales data after the local equity market closed Friday. However, TSMC shares appeared resilient ahead of the release of the sales report, amid optimism toward its shipments for the three-month period.   [FULL  STORY]

Exports fell on shorter working month

TOUGH TRADING:While shipments of electronic components remained a bright spot, last month’s trade surplus was 11.2 percent less than September last year’s

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 08, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The nation’s exports last month fell 1.8 percent from a year earlier to US$22.56 billion because the Mid-Autumn Festival and two typhoons reduced the number of working days and disrupted shipments, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

The dip, while shallow and most likely short-lived, shows the domestic economy’s recovery is fragile and slow.

“The decline is not a surprise in light of the reduced working days last month, shorter only than the month that has the Lunar New Year holidays,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said.

IMPORTS

Growth momentum remains on course and is increasing toward the end of the year, as evidenced by robust electronics sales and capital equipment imports, Tsai said.

Imports, a critical economic barometer because most stem from export needs, increased 0.7 percent to US$18.19 billion last month from a year earlier, ending six quarters of downturn, as local semiconductor firms bought new machinery to upgrade their production technology, Tsai said.   [FULL  STORY]

Pepper robots start work in Taipei insurance office

LIFE LESS BORING:The job of the androids involves introducing products, making wait times fun and supplementing the human workforce, Cathay Life says

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 07, 2016
By: AFP, TAIPEI

A shiny new cohort yesterday joined the workforce in Taiwan — a troop of mini robots all going by the name “Pepper,” enlisted to entertain customers and give them the hard sell.

Mandarin-speaking Peppers were introduced into two banks and an insurance company in Taipei, dancing to music, playing with children in lobbies and leading staff aerobics sessions.

The pint-size white automatons are designed to flatter customers in line, declaring: “It’s my honor to serve you.”

Skilled in public relations, they guess clients’ ages at far lower than reality. Then they move in for the kill, providing information on financial products and encouraging customers to go to company Web sites and sales staff for information.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares close up 0.13%

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-06
By: Frances Huang, Central News Agency

Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) Taiwan shares closed up 12.03 points, or 0.13 percent, at 9,284.31 Thursday on turnover of NT$61.72 billion (US$1.97 billion).     [SOURCE]

MediaTek targets India for market expansion

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 07, 2016
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Handset chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it plans to seek business opportunities in India, the world’s fourth-largest smartphone market, by tripling its workforce there within the next three years.

The company has been expanding its presence in China over the past decade and is gradually shifting its focus to India in pursuit of new growth.

MediaTek accounts for 70 percent of the handset chip market in India, where New Delhiis seeking to develop its home-grown mobile phone brands via the “Made in India” initiative.

“India has a huge growth potential,” MediaTek chairman Tsai Ming-kai (蔡明介) told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Taipei arranged by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, citing the firm’s strategy of growing with local brands in emerging markets.    [FULL  STORY]

One third of young workers live hand to mouth: poll

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/06
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang

Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) More than 30 percent of employees under 40 spend almost all their monthly salary 59938713and some find it difficult to make ends meet, a survey showed on Thursday.

Citing the survey, the yes123 job bank network said that 31.6 percent of workers under the age of 40 indicated they spend nearly all their monthly salary on living expenses.

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, defines employees under 40 as being part of the “young working generation.”

The job bank said that 53.2 percent of respondents listed food as a major expense, with 35.2 percent indicating leisure and entertainment.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares end down after Wall Street’s retreat

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-05
By: Frances Huang, Central News Agency

Shares in Taiwan closed lower Wednesday after Wall Street fell overnight amid renewed worries over a possible interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, dealers said.

Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that the European Central Bank could soon wind down its quantitative easing policy, leading investors to turn cautious about the market’s liquidity and not chase prices after the gains seen the previous two sessions, dealers said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed down 15.49 points, or 0.17 percent, at 9,272.28, after moving between 9,244.41 and 9,276.13, on turnover of NT$60.02 billion (US$1.91 billion).

The market opened down 0.29 percent in reaction to weakness in U.S. markets overnight, including a 0.47 percent fall by the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a 0.50 percent drop in the S&P 500 index.     [FULL  STORY]

Deal with Micron to be completed in December: Inotera

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/05
By: Jackson Chang and Frances Huang

Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) A deal through which U.S.-based Micron Technology Inc. will acquire Taiwanese 201610050024t0001DRAM chip maker Inotera Memories Inc. (華亞科) is scheduled to be completed in December, the Taiwanese firm said Wednesday.

The announcement by Inotera relieved many investors, as fears faded that the acquisition will fall apart. The fears mounted after Micron postponed the deal in a statement released in early June without giving a reason. The U.S. suitor had previously planned to complete the deal in mid-July.

While the local main board suffered some selling throughout the trading session to close down 0.17 percent Wednesday, shares of Inotera bucked the downturn, soaring 4.28 percent to end at NT$29.25 (US$0.93).

The Inotera announcement came after it and Micron reached a consensus to complete the acquisition deal in the first half of December after the delay. Inotera has scheduled a board meeting for November to come up with an exact timeframe for completion of the acquisition.     [FULL  STORY]

Chip shortage likely to drag on, MediaTek says

SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS:The industry is still reeling from the effects of a quake in southern Taiwan in February, which disrupted production, a MediaTek executive said

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 06, 2016
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Handset chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said that a chip supply constraint is likely to

MediaTek Inc vice chairman and president Hsieh Ching-jiang attends a news conference in Taipei yesterday to mark Google’s 10th anniversary in Taiwan. Photo: CNA

MediaTek Inc vice chairman and president Hsieh Ching-jiang attends a news conference in Taipei yesterday to mark Google’s 10th anniversary in Taiwan. Photo: CNA

persist through the end of the year.

While the company did not elaborate on how the issue is likely to affect its business this quarter, vice chairman and president Hsieh Ching-jiang (謝清江) said that it would be a slower season than the third quarter, citing seasonal factors and weakening growth momentum in China.

The Hsinchu-based company has a long list of Chinese clients, including Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp (歐珀移動), Vivo Electronics Corp (維沃移動通信) and Xiaomi Corp (小米).

Chip supply became tight from the second quarter after a powerful earthquake hit southern Taiwan in February, disrupting production by local chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), MediaTek said in June.     [FULL  STORY]