Business and Finance

ECS shares fall on Venezuelan debt

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 13, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Elitegroup Computer Systems Co (ECS, 精英電腦) shares yesterday plunged by the 10 percent daily limit to NT$17.55 after the company said it is to book US$90.84 million in bad debt for last quarter due to overdue payments from Venezuela.

At a Monday night news conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the motherboard maker said that payments for project-based PC and tablet orders from Venezuela were smooth and on time until the beginning of this year, when international oil prices dropped significantly.

The company won a bid in 2014 for a Venezuelan government order for more than 2 million PCs and educational tablets worth more than US$400 million, ECS chairwoman Lin Kuo Wen-yen (林郭文艷) said.

ECS finished shipping the devices by the end of last year and collected more than US$310 million, Lin Kuo told reporters.   [FULL  STORY]

Asus ZenFone 3, Deluxe and Ultra rolling out in Taiwan market

The China Post
Date: July 13, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI–Taiwan-based tech giant Asus (華碩) on Tuesday launched its ZenFone 3,

A model holds two ZenFone3 models at a press event in Taipei on Tuesday, July 12. Asus launched its ZenFone 3, in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. (CNA)

A model holds two ZenFone3 models at a press event in Taipei on Tuesday, July 12. Asus launched its ZenFone 3, in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
(CNA)

the first of three models in that smartphone series, in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

The 5.2-inch Zenfone 3 is priced at NT$7,990 (US$248), while the 5.5-inch model costs NT$9,990, the company said at a product release in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the 5.7-inch ZenFone 3 Deluxe will hit the market soon with a price tag of NT$15,990 and the 6.8-inch ZenFone 3 Ultra will be released on July 27 at a price of NT$17,990, according to the company.

Following the release of the three models in the ZoneFone 3 series, Asus said, it will start mass production, aiming for 1 million units per month.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares soar, led by large-cap high-tech stocks

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-11
By: Central News Agency

Shares in Taiwan made a strong showing Monday as investors here took cues from the solid gains posted on Wall Street over the weekend to buy into local large cap electronics stocks, dealers said.

Among the gaining electronics heavyweights, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電), the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, rose on hopes that the chip maker’s lead over its peers in advanced production process will continue to help it rake in handsome sales, they said.

Buying spread to other large-cap stocks in the non-high tech sector to push up the broader market significantly to move above the 8,700 point mark throughout the session, they said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed up 145.56 points, or 1.68 percent, at 8,786.47, after moving between 8,728.23 and 8,795.80, on turnover of NT$97.29 billion (US$3 billion).     [FULL  STORY]

Taxi drivers protest Uber encroaching on their business

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/11
By: Huang Chiao-wen, Wang Shu-fen and S.C. Chang

Taipei, July 11 (CNA) Some 2,000 yellow taxis occupied part of Ketagalan Boulevard and the 201607110024t0001Legislature’s compound in central Taipei on Monday to protest against Uber and demand that the government revoke its operation license and impose heavy fines on the competitor.

Members of the Taxi Driver Labor Unions ROC and other drivers groups complained that Uber has been competing unfairly with them and hurting their business, which they said was down 20-30 percent since Uber began operating in Taipei in 2014.

The taxi drivers asked the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to never allow private car drivers to provide chauffeur services and to crack down on violators of relevant laws.

They also demanded the Investment Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs revoke Uber’s business license, which was for “information service.”     [FULL  STORY]

FPG units’ pre-tax earnings improve

SOFT OUTLOOK:After seeing profits rise in the first half, Formosa Plastics Group said earnings could weaken in the second half on maintenance and higher ethylene prices

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 12, 2016
By: Kuo Chia-erh / Staff reporter

The four major units of Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團), the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday said aggregate profits for the first half of the year increased, despite a decline in revenue.

The four — Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠), Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠) and Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維) — reported a combined revenue of NT$643.79 billion (US$19.98 billion) in the first six months, down 16.5 percent annually, but pre-tax earnings rose to NT$104.01 billion, 14.8 percent higher than the same period last year, company data showed.

On a quarterly basis, the second quarter saw significantly improved profits compared with three months earlier. Revenue totaled NT$335.27 billion for last quarter, rising 8.7 percent from the first quarter, while pre-tax profit reached NT$69.39 billion, more than double the previous quarter’s level.     [FULL  STORY]

Bus companies blast labor law changes & threaten to cut trips

The China Post
Date: July 12, 2016
By: Coral Wang and Jill Huang, The China Post with CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan bus operators said they may reduce service by half on Sundays from

National Joint Association of Bus for Tourists of R.O.C. Chairman Wang Ying-chieh (王應傑), center, poses for a group photo with other bus company chairmen and trade chamber leaders before a meeting aimed at discussing recent labor law amendments on Monday, July 11.(Coral Wang, The China Post)

National Joint Association of Bus for Tourists of R.O.C. Chairman Wang Ying-chieh (王應傑), center, poses for a group photo with other bus company chairmen and trade chamber leaders before a meeting aimed at discussing recent labor law amendments on Monday, July 11.(Coral Wang, The China Post)

August in order to cope with a manpower shortage created by new labor rules.

The National Joint Association of Bus for Tourists of R.O.C. (NABT) met Monday to discuss its response to new Ministry of Labor directives.

Members expressed worry that increasing personnel costs and limited manpower would result in a lack of buses operating over national holidays, late nights and early mornings.

A recent government proposal to amend labor laws so that workers may not work seven consecutive days would have a severe impact on bus companies, according to company chairmen and trade chamber leaders.

“If the government wishes to take care of workers, its policies need to be more thorough,” the NABT said.”Bus companies are already facing a lack of drivers. The new flexible day-off scheme will make running their businesses even more difficult than it already is.”     [FULL  STORY]

TSMC refutes report of Nanjing research & development site

The China Post
Date: July 11, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — World-leading contract chip-maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) Sunday denied reports that it had chosen to build a new research and development center in Nanjing of China’s Jiansu province.

TSMC issued a statement to dampen speculation that arose after it held a ground breaking ceremony for its new 12-inch wafer plant in Nanjing last Thursday.

TSMC said that some media outlets in Taiwan had misunderstood reports from mainland Chinese sources that the firm was building a research and development plant in Nanjing.

In a bid to help local media better understand the situation, the company also released the text of a speech that TSMC Chairman Morris Chang’s (張忠謀) had delivered at the ground breaking ceremony.     [FULL  STORY]

Hon Hai reportedly starts production of iPhone7

Focus Taiwan
Date; 2016/07/10
By: Jalen Chung and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, July 10 (CNA) Apple Inc.’s contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. reportedly 201607100014t0001has begun production of the iPhone7 in preparation for its expected September release, which has raised hopes of a better sales performance by Hon Hai in the second half of the year.

An Internet user, under the name Malignant, tweeted that that Hon Hai Precision, trading as Foxconn Technology Group, has begun mass production of the iPhone7.

Malignant also posted a photo purportedly of the iPhone7 camera lens kit.

A French technology news tipster @OnLeaks has also tweeted that production of Apple’s 4.7-inch iPhone 7 has started at facilities owned by another Apple contract manufacturer Pegatron.     [FULL  STORY]

Housing market improves somewhat

FEELING ‘BLUE’:‘Housing Monthly’ said the market flashed ‘blue’ again, reflecting sluggish sales, but improved to 31.7 last month, from 31.1 in May, near ‘yellow-blue’

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 11, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The pre-sale and new home market flashed a second “blue” signal last month, reflecting sluggish sales, which have improved slightly after some developers lowered prices significantly to facilitate transactions, a Housing Monthly (住展雜誌) report said.

The improvement could sustain its momentum if builders resist the temptation to increase price tags amid a nascent recovery in buying interest, the Chinese-language magazine said.

The market indicator stood at 31.7 last month, modestly better than 31.1 in May and approaching the threshold of 32 for a “yellow-blue” indicator, as pre-sale projects soared to NT$40 billion (US$1.24 billion), from more than NT$10 billion one month earlier, the report said.

“The sentiment gauge could flash ‘yellow-blue’ this month, if the numbers of prospective buyers and dealers pick up further, suggesting the market is shifting gears away from a recessionary state,” the publication’s research manager Ho Shih-chang (何世昌) said.     [FULL  STORY]

Composting comrades: Giving back to the Earth, getting vegetables in return

The China Post
Date: July 11, 2016
By: Shahanaaz Habib, The Star /Asia News Network

The Star /Asia News Network

Will Chua is a civil engineer with three master’s degrees who was working in a high-powered job as

Tang Thian Yeong, left, and Will Chua take a break from working at their composting center. (Hahanaaz Habib/The Star/ANN)

Tang Thian Yeong, left, and Will Chua take a break from working at their composting center.
(Hahanaaz Habib/The Star/ANN)

a manager with the Singapore Economic Development Board before deciding to give it all up and return to Johor Baru — to get into organic farming.

Instead of neatly pressed shirts and suits, nowadays you would see him in a sweaty T-shirt on the farm or driving a truck with large brown garbage cans around town, making rounds to pick up food waste.

He makes stops at Renaissance Hotel Johor Baru, a fishmonger, a restaurant, an onion and garlic wholesaler, and a vegetable wholesaler.

“I guess you could say we are a bit like a private waste management company but with no contract. We get these places to separate their food waste. We go collect it then turn it into compost.     [FULL  STORY]