HAND OVER:Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan said that the government could spur growth by using excessive savings to fund public works, such as urban renewal

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 30, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The central bank yesterday kept its policy rates unchanged, saying the economy has recovered mild growth since last quarter and the pace is expected to accelerate next quarter and beyond.

The move followed four interest rate cuts of 12.5 basis points in the past 12 months, when the nation’s export-focused economy took a hit from a slowdown with major trading partners, including China.

“The nation’s interest rates are low enough and loose monetary policy is increasingly reaching its limit,” central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) told a news conference after the bank’s quarterly board meeting.

This means the rediscount rate will hold steady at 1.375 percent, the collateralized loan rate at 1.75 percent and the unsecured loan rate at 3.625 percent.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: September 30, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI–Shares in Taiwan closed higher Thursday to push the weighted index past the 9,200-point mark as investors here were encouraged by a rally on Wall Street overnight to play catch-up on the local equity market, dealers said.

The bellwether electronics sector remained a driver that boosted the broader market, led by market heavyweights such as contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (台積電), while financial stocks also posted gains on bargain hunting, leading the index to move higher at the close, the dealers said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) closed up 76.38 points, or 0.83 percent, at 9,270.90, after moving between 9,238.49 and 9,303.13, on turnover of NT$87.88 billion (US$2.81 billion).

The market opened up 0.51 percent in a knee-jerk reaction to a higher Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.61 percent and the S&P 500 index ended 0.53 percent higher on a strong rebound in international crude oil prices, the dealers said.     [FULL  STORY]

NAME CHANGE:In this year’s annual competitiveness report, the World Economic Forum called Taiwan ‘Chinese Taipei,’ rather than ‘Taiwan, China,’ for the first time

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 29, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Taiwan’s global competitiveness climbed one notch to 14th place this year, although the overall scores remain unchanged, in line with the nation’s lackluster economic performance, a World Economic Forum (WEF) report said yesterday.

The WEF annual report assessed the competitiveness of 138 economies based on 114 indicators grouped in three sub-indices.

Taiwan scored 5.28 this year, the same as last year, after achieving small gains in financial market development and technological readiness ratings, the report said.

However, the nation posted modest declines in infrastructure, market size and other evaluation areas, the report said.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: September 29, 2016
By: John Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Increased consumer demand helped lift industrial output in August by 7.74 percent from a year ago, the greatest annual increase in more than 12 months, according to a report released Tuesday by the Economics Ministry.

The manufacturing sector, which contributes over 90 percent of industrial output, rose 8.35 percent on the back of surging demand for consumer electronics.

New technologies like virtual reality also fueled the growth, with companies offering integrated circuits, LCD panels and electronics parts and components all benefiting.

Chemical material and basic metal producers also ramped up production as they took advantage of falling commodity prices. Output for the two sectors rose 6.94 percent and 4.52 percent, respectively.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 28, 2016
By: Ted Chen / Staff reporter

EnTie Commercial Bank (安泰銀行) yesterday denied having collected NT$47 million (US$1.5 million) in unjust fees from a borrower before proceeds from a NT$1.29 billion loan were paid out in a dispute dating back to Dec. 25, 2014.

The bank was responding to a news conference held by Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) on behalf of the borrower.

The borrower, a New Taipei City-based real-estate developer, said that its agreement with the bank stipulates that no fees would be required until the loaned funds are disbursed and utilized.

However, just six days after the agreement was finalized, the bank said that the fees must be paid to meet procedural requirements to cross over to the next fiscal year, or the borrower risked losing the line of credit.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-09-27
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Y.F. Low, Central News Agency

Taipei, Sept. 27 (CNA) Taiwan’s consumer confidence index (CCI) in September dropped to its lowest level in two years, reflecting uncertainty about Taiwan’s economic outlook, National Central University (NCU) said Tuesday.

The CCI for September was 78.66, down 0.90 points from a month earlier, according to a survey conducted by the university’s Center for Taiwan Economic Development asking Taiwanese consumers about their spending intentions and outlook for the coming six months.

The index consists of six indicators reflecting how much confidence people have in consumer prices, the job market, family finances, the overall economic climate, the stock market and the possible purchase of durable goods in the coming six months.

In September, two of the six sub-indexes moved up, but only slightly. The sub-index for family finances rose 0.1 point to 78.9, while the sub-index for the timing for durable goods purchases gained 0.05 points to 89.     [FULL  STORY]

STEADY ADVANCE:The economics ministry expects manufacturing to continue rising this month, thereby posting its first quarterly growth since the first quarter of last year

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 28, 2016
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Last month saw industrial production rebound at its fastest pace in nine months, backed by a jump in output by semiconductor manufacturers, which benefited from the debut of Apple’s Inc’s latest iPhone models, statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday showed.

Industrial production climbed 7.74 percent annually last month, ministry data showed.

Manufacturing, which contributed 93 percent to industrial output as a whole, expanded 8.35 percent year-on-year last month, surpassing the ministry’s forecast of a 5 percent increase.

“Sales of mobile devices by global brands stimulated inventory demand for electronic components, which spurred production in foundry, chip packaging and chip substrates” last month, the ministry said in a statement.      [FULL  STORY]