Business and Finance

Sharp Corp. returns to Taiwan with Aquos P1

The China Post
Date: July 7, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI — Japan’s Sharp Corp., with its financial troubles having been settled, is

Models show off the Aquos P1, the flagship smartphone of Japan's Sharp Corp. at a press conference in Taipei on Wednesday, July 6. (CNA)

Models show off the Aquos P1, the flagship smartphone of Japan’s Sharp Corp. at a press conference in Taipei on Wednesday, July 6. (CNA)

making a strong comeback to Taiwan’s market with the launch of its flagship smartphone, the Aquos P1.

Local sales of the device will begin at Chunghwa Telecom and Senao International stores around the country July 15, according to an announcement made Wednesday by Commtiva Technology Ltd., a Taiwan-based distributor of international electronic brands and a sales arm of Foxconn Technology Group.

It noted that the price for the Sharp Aquos P1 will be set at NT$20,990 (US$648) per unit.     [FULL  STORY]

Acer chairman says Q2 forex losses avoided

THREE-MONTH WINDOW:George Huang said that the company does not anticipate forex losses for at least the next month or two, as it has locked its euro exchange rate

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 07, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday said it is likely to post foreign-exchange gains for last quarter, dismissing market speculation that the company was hit by the sharp depreciation of the euro against the US dollar following Britain’s vote to leave the EU.

“We are doing OK in hedging foreign-exchange risks. Acer might even book a small forex gain for last quarter,” Acer chairman George Huang (黃少華) told reporters on the sidelines of an Acer news conference at the firm’s headquarters in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止).

Industry watchers said that Acer — along with other Taiwanese technology companies — might be hurt by slowing European demand and forex losses after the UK’s historic vote, given its 40 percent revenue exposure to European markets.

As part of its efforts to hedge against volatile exchange rates, Huang said
Acer purchased euros at a fixed rate against the greenback last month, adding that the euro’s recent depreciation would not negatively affect the company’s earnings.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s ETF market expands quickly

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-05
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) market has built up scale with so many new ETFs coming to the market, such as the ETFs that track foreign stock markets in Hong Kong, China, Japan, India, and the United States.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp. (TWSE), however, has a more ambitious plan to gather momentum by introducing more new types of ETF products for Taiwanese investors.

According to the TWSE, as of Tuesday, there are 49 ETFs available to trade with total assets amounting to NT$247.8 billion, up 20.59 percent from NT$205.5 billion by the end of 2015. The average daily turnover of ETFs was NT$8.22 billion in the first five months of 2016, demonstrating an explosive growth that increased by 27.16 percent compared to the same period last year. The transaction volumes accounted for 9.94 percent of daily turnover on the Taiwan Stock Exchange from last year’s 7.26 percent.

According to the TWSE, turnover ratios of three ETFs as of this April have reached 529.17 percent, 1,036.5 percent, 753.18 percent respectively. Apart from the ETF tracking the Japanese market, the TWSE has launched ETFs tracking the stock markets in the United States and India this year and the one following European market is scheduled to be made available later this year.      [FULL  STORY]

Service sector remains slow, loses peak season effects: survey

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/05
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 5 (CNA) The local service sector remained weak in May, as an index that gauges the 201607050035t0001climate of the sector continued to point to a slowdown, losing the peak season effects usually seen in the wholesale industry in that month, according to the results of a survey released Tuesday.

The Commerce Development Research Institute (CDRI, 商發院) said that the index of service industry (ISI) stood at 96 points, and added that although the May figure was up one point from a month earlier the score remained in the range of a yellow-blue light for the seventh consecutive month.

The CDRI uses a five-color coded system, coupled with the ISI, to describe the climate of the local service sector, focusing on three major segments — securities trading, the labor market and wages, and business operations.

Red signals overheating, yellow-red indicates slight overheating, green represents steady growth, yellow-blue signals sluggishness and blue indicates recession. The score for a yellow-blue light ranges between 93 points and 99 points.     [FULL  STORY]

CPI sees slowest gain in five months

STABILIZATION:The consumer price index rose 0.9 percent as rises in fruit prices slowed. Without the rise in fruit prices, the CPI would have risen only 0.14 percent

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 06, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.9 percent last month from a year earlier, its slowest gain in five months, as hikes in fruit prices eased, although they remained the fastest in more than a decade, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

The latest CPI data indicated benign inflation as food costs continued to advance more rapidly than other consumer items, suggesting heavier price burdens for low-income earners.

“Overall consumer prices have stabilized as evidenced by the smaller than 1 percent increase in the CPI reading,” DGBAS Deputy Director Tsai Yu-tai (蔡鈺泰) told a news conference in Taipei.

The inflationary gauge has hovered near the 2 percent alarm level since February due to drastic rises in vegetable and fruit prices, as bad weather from the winter and two typhoons last year continued to disrupt supply, Tsai said.     [FULL  STORY]

Recruitment agencies protest labor bill; workers rally in favor

The China Post
Date: July 6, 2016
By: Christine Chou

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Six major migrant recruitment agencies protested outside the Legislative Yuan p05a(1)Tuesday morning against an amendment that would cancel requirements for migrants to leave Taiwan every three years, which the agencies claim will cost Taiwanese employers billions of New Taiwan dollars.

Opponents to the amendment were met in front of the Legislature by supporters of the law, who argue that the changes are necessary to prevent exploitation.

The protest comes after the Legislature passed a preliminary approval of amendments to the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) on June 22. The changes include the elimination of regulations that require foreign workers to leave the country for more than a day before returning to Taiwan for work every three years.

The amendment was hailed by migrant rights organizations as a step in the right direction. The Migrants Empowerment Network in Taiwan (MENT, 移工聯盟) stated that profits should not be earned by exploiting others.     [FULL  STORY]

June PMI signals continued expansion in manufacturing: CIER

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-04
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Amid concerns that Taiwan’s gross domestic product growth for 2016 might not surpass the 1 percent mark, the indicators of the overall economic condition for the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors in June both pointed to expansion, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) said Monday.

Taiwan’s purchasing managers index (PMI) for manufacturing activity for June fell from a month earlier, but the figure still indicated expansion for the fourth consecutive month, while its non-manufacturing index (NMI) for the month also turned to expansion from contraction, according to the CIER, one of Taiwan’s leading economic think tanks.

The June PMI fell 1.6 points from a month earlier to 53.3, the CIER said. However, the data shows that the local manufacturing climate remained in expansion mode. A PMI reading of above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing activity, while a figure below 50 signals contraction.The factors in the PMI in June that pointed to expansion include the June sub-indexes for new orders and production, which fell 2.7 and 2.5 points, respectively, from a month earlier to 55.3.     [FULL  STORY]

Almost 60% of manufacturers expect exports to grow in H2: survey

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/04
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Nearly 60 percent of Taiwanese manufacturers expected their exports to 201607040027t0001rise in the second half of the year amid improved economic sentiment at home and abroad, according to a Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中經院) survey.

The economic think tank said 59.8 percent of the polled manufacturers in its semi-annual survey said their exports would increase in the coming six months, up from 45.2 percent who felt that way in a similar survey conducted six months ago.

About one in six respondents (16.1 percent) said they expected their outbound sales to fall, compared with 26.8 percent who were pessimistic in the previous survey.

CIER President Wu Chung-shu (吳中書) said that although Taiwan’s exports have been haunted by weak global demand, a majority of local manufacturers now believe the situation will improve.     [FULL  STORY]

Feng Tay unfazed by Nike slowdown

EXPANSION:Aside from investing further in research and development in Taiwan, the footwear manufacturer is focused on expanding its plants in India and Indonesia

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 05, 2016
By: Kuo Chia-erh / Staff reporter

Despite slowing orders from Nike Inc, Feng Tay Enterprises Co’s (豐泰企業) overseas production expansion strategy would remain unchanged and its second plant in India would begin operations in the second half of next year, a company spokesman said yesterday.

Nike said late last month that orders for the North American market in the third quarter would grow only 6 percent annually.

“As Feng Tay generates 80 percent of its revenue from Nike, we recommend investors switch to other stocks in the sector with better gross margins, stronger pricing power and more sales contribution from China,” Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) analyst Peggy Shih (施姵帆) said in a note to clients last month.     [FULL  STORY]

TSMC shares climb to NT$166.5, market cap sets nat’l record

The China Post
Date: July 5, 2016
By: John Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) climbed to NT$166.5 at one point during trading on Monday, resulting in record high capitalization for a single company in the history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

The share price, which has been at a 16-year high for days, surged 28 percent, from around NT$130 recorded at the start of 2016.

Thanks to the soaring price, the world’s largest contract chip-maker achieved a NT$4.31 trillion market value yesterday.

Lured by the company’s strong fundamentals, foreign capital placed a net purchase of 80 million shares on Monday.     [FULL  STORY]