Taiwan News
Date: 2016-06-27
By: Central News Agency

The Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) Monday unveiled two options contracts denominated in Chinese yuan on the exchange of the U.S. dollar against the yuan to provide investors with more hedging tools.

The two contracts are the first yuan-denominated foreign exchange options contracts against the U.S. dollar in the world, the TAIFEX said.

One of the two yuan options contracts is traded based on the settlement price quoted in the Taipei Foreign Exchange Market Development Foundation, while the other one is traded based on the settlement price quoted in the Treasury Markets Association of Hong Kong, the TAIFEX said.

The two options contracts, which are traded between 8:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. of every business day, will both be settled in cash, the exchange said.     [FULL  STORY]

MORE EVIDENCE NEEDED:The pickup in business climate was not interpreted as the beginning of economic recovery on concerns that Brexit might sap consumer demand

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 28, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The government’s business climate monitor last month stood at “yellow-blue” for the second consecutive month, indicating that the economy has started to recover, but the pace is slow, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday.

The council’s Taiwan Business Indicators increased by three points to 20 last month, spurred by improving industrial production, capital equipment imports and manufacturing sales data, the council’s monthly report said.

However, the council did not interpret the increase as the beginning of recovery on concerns that Britain’s decision on Thursday last week to leave the EU, or Brexit, might wreak havoc on global financial markets and sales of consumer electronics.

“More evidence is needed to decide if the improvement is solid and stable,” NDC Director Wu Ming-huei (吳明蕙) told a news conference, adding that the marginal size of the pickup lends support to caution.     [FULL  STORY]

’BREXIT’FALLOUT:Consumers in the EU might become cautious about spending, while a stronger yen would hurt Taiwanese dealers of Japanese brands, analysts said

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 27, 2016
By: Ted Chen / Staff reporter

Taiwanese companies with high European sales contributions or earnings that are linked to the movement of the yen are expected to be most affected by the fallout from Britain’s vote to leave the EU, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said.

“Brexit” has unleashed a new wave of uncertainty for global markets, leading to expectations of heightened foreign-exchange volatility as global funds take shelter in defensive options such as the yen and the US dollar, the brokerage said in a report on Friday.

A stronger yen is expected to bring increased cost constraints for Taiwanese dealers of, and suppliers to, Japanese brands, and local companies including Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產) and Toyota and Lexus distributor Hotai Motor Co (和泰車) might be compelled to increase prices, which could hamper their sales, the report said.     [FULL  STORY]

TURNAROUND:Prior to the UK’s vote, foreign funds increased holdings in local shares by NT$42.79bn, in anticipation of the high-sales season for upstream technology products

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 27, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The TAIEX is set to slump further today — after shedding 2.3 percent on Friday — as it reflects nosedives in Wall Street and European bourses following Britain’s vote to leave the EU, analysts said yesterday.

The dividend issuances of major technology and financial companies would also put pressure on their market values and the main board, the analysts said.

“The local bourse is bound to open lower on Monday as ‘Brexit’-linked uncertainty continues to unnerve investors and drive changes in fund allocation strategies,” state-run Hua Nan Securities Co (華南永昌投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said by telephone.

Wall Street tumbled 3.39 percent on Friday after the pan-European STOXX 600 Index closed down about 7 percent, with France’s CAC 40 Index plummeting about 8 percent, Germany’s DAX Index dropping 6.8 percent and Italy’s FTSE MIB and Spain’s IBEX 35 falling more than 12 percent.     [FULL  STORY]

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

TAIPEI–State-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) said Sunday that it is preparing for its most challenging week ahead in providing power supplies, calling for efforts by the public to help reduce electricity use.

Taipower recorded peak electricity consumption of 35.21 million kilowatts June 23, the second-highest in history, after the country saw daytime highs of more than 37 degrees Celsius for four days in a row.

The number of days that saw such high temperatures — seven in total this month and all in Taipei — broke the June record since the weather station was set up in the city in 1897, Taipower said, citing Central Weather Bureau statistics.

The highest peak electricity consumption in history — 35.39 million kilowatts — was recorded July 2, 2015, when the country entered the second day of the annual three-day college entrance examination, Taipower pointed out.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-06-25
By: Wendy Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

As Britain voted to leave the European Union after the referendum campaign, Taiwan should shift its export focus from Europe to China and ASEAN, said the Chairman of the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC), Lin Por-fong.

Britain on Friday voted to leave the 28-nation European Union, with 52% of the votes in favor for leave, shocking the markets but delighting the “leave” campaigners.

Chairman of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Lin Huei-Ying, expressed her concerns that Brexit could create a domino effect in EU, and further crumble the union.

In an interview, Lin Por-fong said that Taiwan’s exports to the EU account for around 10 percent of the entire trade, but as Britain’s exit from the EU will get under way, Taiwanese enterprises would likely to shift their exports to China and ASEAN.     [FULL  STORY]