Business and Finance

Powertech foresees slow, steady growth

FAN-OUT PACKAGING:The firm plans to boost capital spending by about 38 percent this year to finance capacity expansion and the development of advanced technology

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 27, 2016
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Powertech Technology Inc (PTI, 力成科技) expects revenue to grow gradually over the next three quarters on rising demand for advanced handset chips, after seasonal weakness pared net profits 12.7 percent sequentially last quarter, company executives said yesterday.

The Hsinchu-based chip tester and packager also said the government’s suspension of a NT$19.4 billion (US$599.45 million) investment plan by Chinese semiconductor firm Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd (清華紫光) would not affect this year’s business outlook.

“We have arranged cash and technologies to support the company’s business plan this year. The Tsinghua Unigroup case, which is still under government review, will not affect our business, revenue, cash position and capital spending,” chairman Tsai Du-kung (蔡篤恭) told an investors’ conference yesterday.     [FULL  STORY]

HTC forecasts global VR business will top smartphones in 4 years

Taiwan’ News
Date: 2016-04-25
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) Taiwan-based HTC Corp., which recently launched its first virtual reality headset the HTV Vive, has projected that the global VR market will overtake the smartphone market in four years.

In a report on China’s Sina website, Wang Tsung-ching, head of HTV Vive China, said it took only five years for smartphone sales to jump past personal computer sales in terms of volume, and now that smartphone demand is slowing, VR devices are expected to become the next big consumer technology on the market.

With the rapid evolution of technology, the VR market is likely to overtake the smartphone market in four years, creating a big impact in the high tech sector and the daily lives of consumers, Wang said.

The HTC Vive, jointly developed by HTC and U.S. video game supplier Valve, was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show in March 2015.      [FULL  STORY]

Taipei launches new website for registration of large catered events

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/25
By: Yu Kai-hsiang, Ku Chuan and Kay Liu

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) The Taipei City Department of Health launched on Monday a website for 201604250025t0001caterers to notify the government of their upcoming events involving guests of 200 or more outside their restaurants.

The new website (in Chinese) was set up after the city government introduced a new food safety regulation in January, which requires the city’s tourist hotels (44 as of February) and restaurants that have at least 20 tables and serve Chinese banquets to notify the government about catering services offered outside their own venues.

Caterers that fail to notify the city government about services offered to 200 guests or more three days before an event will receive a written warning for their first violation, the city’s Department of Health said.

Repeat offenders will face fines ranging from NT$10,000 (US$309.12) to NT$100,000, according to the city regulation.     [FULL  STORY]

Taisun elects chairman, board directors

MOVING FORWARD:New general manager Fred Chan said that the company would work on safeguarding shareholders’ interests and look at ineffective Chinese businesses

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 26, 2016
By: Aileen Chuang / Staff reporter

Food and cooking oil supplier Taisun Enterprise Co (泰山企業) yesterday elected a new chairman and board of directors, putting an end to a high-profile ownership fight between the third-generation descendants of the founder.

Chan Yi-hung (詹逸宏), who took over as general manager from former chairman Kenneth Chan (詹岳霖) last month, is to become chairman, while Chan Chin-chia (詹晉嘉) is to become vice chairman and Fred Chan (詹景超) is to act as the new general manager.

The new postings were decided at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting in Chunghua County, after three of the company’s eight directors resigned on March 9, as stipulated by the Company Act (公司法).     [FULL  STORY]

Taoyuan airport operator suspends 4th terminal project

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/24
By: Bien Chi-feng and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, April 24 (CNA) Taoyuan International Airport Corp. (TIAC) is suspending plans to build a 201604240005t0001fourth terminal at the airport after feeling that too many projects are already underway and any more construction would spoil the airport experience for travelers.

TIAC Vice President Wen Yung-sung (溫永松) said Sunday that work is already proceeding on expanding Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s second terminal and preparing to build a third terminal, and starting construction on a fourth terminal could affect service quality.

TIAC announced last year that it was planning to build a “smart terminal” — known as the fourth terminal — on the site of Terminal 1’s first parking lot to help absorb the surge of travelers who pack into the first and second terminal buildings during peak hours.

According to TIAC, the first and second terminals have a combined capacity of 32 million passengers a year, but in 2014 they handled 34 million travelers.     [FULL STORY]

Wholesale drags on commercial trade

DOMESTIC DEMAND GAUGE:Holidays at the beginning of this month are expected to have boosted retail and restaurant revenues, as well as the launch of Apple’s iPhone SE

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 25, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

The nation’s commercial trade contracted by 3.41 percent annually to NT$1.13 trillion (US$34.95 billion) last month, dragged down by continued weakness in the wholesale sector, the Ministry of Economics Affairs said.

The commercial trade data — including revenues from the wholesale, retail and restaurant sectors — is a closely watched gauge of the nation’s domestic demand.

The wholesale sector, which contributed 69.53 percent of total commercial trade, saw revenue plunge 5.3 percent year-on-year to NT$785.7 billion last month, mainly affected by declining purchases of notebook computers and TVs from Japan, the ministry’s Department of Statistics said in a report released on Friday.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s industrial output drops 3.57% in March

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-23
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Industrial production in Taiwan continued to drop on a yearly basis in March 6749968amid weak global demand, marking the 11th consecutive monthly decline. The official attributed the slow drop to the restored production after a powerful magnitude-7.0 quake in February.

According to an announcement by the statistical service department under the MOEA, the local industrial production index for March fell 3.57 percent from a year earlier, while the fall was the smallest since July 2015.

The narrowing decline in local industrial production came after many manufacturers were gearing up to raise their production to make up a shortfall following an interruption caused by a strong earthquake that rocked southern Taiwan in early February.

Major high-tech firms, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which operates a 12-inch wafer plant in southern Taiwan, suffered a short delay in their production caused by the quake.     [FULL  STORY]

Investors urged to use TWSE’s market information platform

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/23
By: Tien Yu-pin and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 23 (CNA) Investors here are being urged by the Taiwan Stock 201604230017t0001Exchange (TWSE) to make better use of the exchange’s Market Observation Post System (MOPS) to get information about listed companies.

The TWSE, which operates the country’s main board, said there is always a certain amount of speculation in the market, and investors would be well-served by visiting the exchange’s MOPS, where listed companies are required to disclose material information, before deciding on an investment.

Listed companies are required by law to post several types of information on the system, including their monthly sales and quarterly earnings, changes in the holdings of major shareholders and sensitive information that could move share prices.     [FULL  STORY]

NT dollar falls, as won continues its four-week rally

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 24, 2016
By: Staff writer, with CNA and Bloomberg

The US dollar rose against the New Taiwan dollar on Friday, gaining NT$0.034 to close at NT$32.33, from NT$32.436 on Friday last week, as foreign investors moved funds out of the region, dealers said.

In the wake of the fund outflow, other regional currencies trended lower against the US dollar, which added downward pressure on the Taiwan dollar throughout the session, although buying by Taiwanese exporters in the local unit gave some support to the currency, capping the losses, the dealers said.

The greenback opened at NT$32.27 and moved between NT$32.25 and NT$32.36 before the close. Turnover totaled US$513 million during the trading session.

The US dollar opened lower against the NT dollar as traders here locked in gains they had built up a session earlier, but the greenback soon recouped its losses and traded in positive territory as some foreign investors remitted their funds back to their home markets, the dealers said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares end moderately lower

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-22
By: By Frances Huang, Central News Agency

Shares in Taiwan closed moderately lower Friday as investors took cues from the losses on Wall Street overnight amid concerns over earnings among the heavyweights in the U.S. market, dealers said.

Selling in the bellwether electronics sector in Taiwan was evident as investors locked in their gains from the previous session, which pushed down the broader market, dealers said.

The financial sector, however, remained resilient, helping to shore up the weighted index, they said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange ended down 32.90 points, or 0.38 percent, at 8,535.75, after moving between 8,501.03 and 8,580.33. Turnover totaled NT$78.55 billion (US$2.43 billion) during the session.     [FULL  STORY]