Business and Finance

Nanya Technology posts drop in quarterly profits

BIG PLUNGE:The required 10 percent surtax was paid on undistributed earnings of NT$765 million last quarter and net profits declined 91 percent on an annual basis

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 28, 2016
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter, in Taoyuan

DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday posted a 79 percent quarterly decline in net profit, which it blamed on price declines and a surtax on undistributed earnings.

A non-operating loss of NT$457 million (US$14.25 million) by Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技), its venture with US-based Micron Technology Inc, also weighed on the bottom line, the company said.

Net profits plunged from NT$1.85 billion in the first quarter to NT$397 million after paying a surtax on undistributed earnings of NT$765 million. On an annual basis, net profits dipped 91 percent from NT$4.25 billion.     [FULL  STORY]

Economy in June on track for ‘slow recovery’

The China Post
Date: July 28, 2016
By: John Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The National Development Council (NDC, 國發會) said its economic

Economic monitoring indicator change over the past year is shown in the graph released by the National Development Council on Wednesday, July 27. The NDC indicator flashed the transitional "yellow-blue" signal in June. (John Liu, The China Post)

Economic monitoring indicator change over the past year is shown in the graph released by the National Development Council on Wednesday, July 27. The NDC indicator flashed the transitional “yellow-blue” signal in June. (John Liu, The China Post)

monitoring indicator flashed the “yellow-blue” signal in June for the third month in a row, indicating that the economy was on track for a “slow recovery.”

The indicator had previously flashed a “blue” signal, indicating “sluggish” growth, for 10 straight months.

The NDC said the recovery in June may be interpreted as a positive sign though analysts were reserved regarding the pace of the recovery.

“Although both the leading and concurrent indicators are trending upward, the margin of movement is not substantial,” said Wu Ming-huei (吳明蕙), director of the Economic Development Department at the NDC.

Though indicators have swung upward for four consecutive months, cumulative growth stayed below 2 percent. “We need to further observe to be sure of this trend,” Wu said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares end above 9,000 points

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-26
By: Central News Agency

Shares in Taiwan were back to above the 9,000-point mark Tuesday on late gains in the electronics sector after falling below the level Monday.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) ended up 33.12 points, or 0.37 percent, at the day’s high of 9,024.79 on Tuesday on turnover of NT$75.71 billion (US$2.36 billion).

The rise was apparently driven by the strong performance of large-cap electronics stocks and financial sector shares late in the trading session, dealers said.

The weighted index closed below 9,000 points on Monday, the first time it finished below the threshold since July 15. The latest run of six closes above the 9,000-point mark in seven sessions hasn’t been seen since July 2015.

Market sentiment remained cautious and showings of Apple-related stocks were mixed as investors wait with anticipation for Apple Inc.’s latest quarterly results to be released on Wednesday, dealers said.     [FULL  STORY]

Fund for industrial innovation, transition established: official

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/26
By: Yang Shu-ming and Romulo Huang

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) The National Development Fund Management Committee decided Tuesday to establish an industrial innovation and transition fund with the aim of helping domestic enterprises to conduct innovation and transition programs, National Development Council Deputy Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said that day.

The National Development Fund is to allocate NT$100 billion (US$3.11 billion) for establishing the new fund to help finance industrial innovation and transition programs, and has begun with immediate effect to accept applications for co-investment projects, Kung said.

The main purpose of the new fund is mainly to channel private capital into investment in local enterprises’ innovation and transitional programs and help them conduct mergers and acquisitions, along with other transition projects, with the aim of improving their efficiency, Kung said.     [FULL  STORY]

YGG Taichung plant to begin operations in 2017

Taipei Times
Date:  Jul 27, 2016
By: Kuo Chia-erh  /  Staff reporter

Yeong Guan Energy Technology Group Co (YGG, 永冠能源), one of the nation’s leading advanced casting components suppliers, on Monday said its new factory in Taichung would begin production next year as scheduled.

YGG, headquartered in China’s Zhejiang Province, provides casting components for specialized applications, mainly in the fields of energy, industrial machinery, medical equipment and injection molding.

After overcoming some hurdles, the new plant is set to finally start operations next year. Construction work was almost delayed, as the company was forced to relocate the plant to an industrial area after the initially planned land in the electricity zone of the Port of Taichung (台中港) was taken back by the city government for other use.

The factory is to produce offshore wind turbine casting components, YGG said in a statement.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan forecast to post negative growth in manufacturing output

The China Post
Date: July 27, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI–A government-sponsored economic research group on Tuesday cut its forecast for the output growth of Taiwan’s manufacturing sector in 2016, now saying it will fall into negative territory because of weak global demand.

Citing results from its quarterly model, the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK) slashed its forecast for manufacturing output growth this year to minus 1.71 percent, from a forecast of 0.11 percent growth made in April.

According to the IEK, manufacturing output is expected to reach NT$17.44 trillion (US$542 billion) this year, which would be down 1.71 percent from the sector’s production value of NT$17.75 trillion in 2015.

The research group said the world’s major economies, such as the United States, the eurozone, China and Japan, have seen weak demand for machinery and equipment, reflecting a lack of confidence in investment in those economies.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan begins marketing Pepper robots

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-25
By: Central News Agency

Taiwan has became the first country outside Japan to market “Pepper,” but the humanoid robot developed by Japanese telecom giant SoftBank Corp. will only be available initially to corporate clients, the local distributor announced Monday.

The first batch of the Pepper robots are expected to be seen at several businesses in Taiwan starting in late September, said Perobot Co., a subsidiary of the robot’s manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.

Beginning Monday, companies interested in hiring the robot were able to sign a two-year lease for the robot with the Taiwan distributor, Hon Hai subsidiary Asia Pacific Telecom Co., at a monthly rate of NT$26,888 (US$835.75), according to Perobot.     [FULL  STORY]

In Taiwan, fixed investment closely tied to manufacturing

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/25
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 25 (CNA) Taiwan’s manufacturing sector accounted for more than 40 percent of the country’s total fixed investment in 2014, higher than the ratios recorded in South Korea and Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Monday.

Manufacturers contributed 44.2 of total fixed investment in Taiwan in 2014 — the most recent year for which data is available — higher than the 33.9 percent in South Korea and 16.1 percent in Japan in the same year, according to MOEA statistics.

The ministry said the relatively strong role of manufacturing in fixed investment in Taiwan and South Korea indicates that the two countries have similar industrial structures.

A booming information and electronics sector pushed up the manufacturing sector’s fixed investment to more than 40 percent of the total in Taiwan, while South Korea benefited from its strong electronics and shipbuilding sectors, the MOEA sector.     [FULL  STORY]

TIER cuts its GDP forecast to less than 1%

DOLDRUMS:There is still time before the nation approaches its debt ceiling and the government could raise the limit to boost infrastructure and push up GDP, TIER said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 26, 20160
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday cut its GDP growth forecast for this year from April’s 1.27 percent to 0.77 percent, as exports and private consumption have been softer than it expected.

It is the third time the Taipei-based think tank has revised down its growth forecast as uncertainty deepens over the global economic outlook after the UK last month voted to leave the EU.

“The government should take a more active role in boosting the economy, as monetary policy has its limits in achieving the goal,” TIER Economic Forecasting Center director Gordon Sun (孫明德) told a news briefing in Taipei.

The central bank has implemented monetary easing, cutting interest rates four times by 12.5 basis points since September last year to support economic growth.     [FULL  STORY]

Pricey drugs overwhelm Medicare safeguard

The China Post
Date: July 26, 2016
By: Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar ,AP

WASHINGTON — A safeguard for Medicare beneficiaries has become a way for drugmakers to

FILE - In this June 14, 2011 file photo, various prescription drugs on the automated pharmacy assembly line at Medco Health Solutions in Willingboro, N.J. A safeguard for Medicare beneficiaries has become a way for drugmakers to get paid billions of dollars for pricey medications at taxpayer expense, government numbers show. The cost of Medicare¡¦s ¡§catastrophic¡¨ prescription coverage jumped by 85 percent in three years, from $27.7 billion in 2013 to $51.3 billion in 2015, according to the program¡¦s number-crunching Office of the Actuary. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

After 20-year run, Yahoo to sell core business to Verizon for US$4.8 billion In this June 14, 2011 file photo, various prescription drugs are pictured on the automated pharmacy assembly line at Medco Health Solutions in Willingboro, New Jersey. A safeguard for Medicare beneficiaries has become a way for drugmakers to get paid billions of dollars for pricey medications at taxpayer expense, government numbers show. (AP)

get paid billions of dollars for pricey medications at taxpayer expense, government numbers show.

The cost of Medicare’s “catastrophic” prescription coverage jumped by 85 percent in three years, from US$27.7 billion in 2013 to US$51.3 billion in 2015, according to the program’s number-crunching Office of the Actuary.

Out of some 2,750 drugs covered by Medicare’s Part D benefit, two pills for hepatitis C infection — Harvoni and Sovaldi — accounted for nearly US$7.5 billion in catastrophic drug costs in 2015.

The pharmaceutical industry questions the numbers, saying they overstate costs because they don’t factor in manufacturer rebates. However, rebates are not publicly disclosed. Senator Charles Grassley is calling the rise in spending “alarming.”

Medicare’s catastrophic coverage was originally designed to protect seniors with multiple chronic conditions from the cumulatively high costs of taking many different pills. Beneficiaries pay 5 percent after they have spent US$4,850 of their own money. With some drugs now costing more than US$1,000 per pill, that threshold can be crossed quickly.     [FULL  STORY]