Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/31
By: Jeffrey Wu and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 31 (CNA) Taiwan’s Asustek Computer Inc. topped Japan’s

SIM-free cell phone market in 2015 with a 28.6 percent share, helped by the company’s ZenFone smartphone series, according to Tokyo-based market research firm BCN Inc.

In the unlocked cell phone market in Japan, Huawei Technologies Co. (華為) from China took the second largest market share, which stood at 23.8 percent, followed by the 15.9 percent of South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc., statistics released by BCN on Jan. 29 showed.

Wireless carriers in Japan lifted the network restriction on their subscribers in May 2015. Thanks to the new measure, smartphones and tablets can be sold in that country with unlocked SIM cards, at the customer’s request and at no extra cost. This allows subscribers on a two-year contract to sign up for alternative plans, if they wish.     [FULL  STORY]

OSAKA MEETING:The Hon Hai boss traveled to Japan to meet with Sharp’s board, but says a non-dislosure agreement means he cannot publicly discuss specifics

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 01, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘)

yesterday said he is confident of the firm’s offer for Sharp Corp and expects the Japanese company to reach a final decision before Friday.

“I am very confident. The [Japanese] government said it has not stepped into the deal and would let the board of Sharp to make its own decision. Plus, we think our terms are much better than other competitors’,” Gou told reporters on the sidelines of Hon Hai’s annual charity carnival at the National Taiwan University Sports Center in Taipei.

Gou returned to Taipei on Saturday night after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Sharp’s board of directors in Osaka.

He declined to confirm if Hon Hai, known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康) outside Taiwan, has offered to take over Sharp with ￥625 billion (US$5.16 billion), saying a non-disclosure agreement bars him from discussing the amount of the proposed offer.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/30
By: Wei Shu and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Jan. 30 (CNA) Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (台塑石化), a

private gasoline supplier in Taiwan, announced Saturday that it will raise its prices for gasoline and diesel next week to reflect the recent increase in international oil prices.

It will be the first fuel price hike imposed by Formosa Petrochemical since Nov. 30, 2015.

Formosa Petrochemical said effective from 1 a.m. Monday, its wholesale gasoline prices will increase by NT$1.0340 (US$0.03) per liter and its wholesale diesel prices will rise by NT$1.0513 per liter.

Retail gasoline and diesel prices will increase by NT$1 respectively.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: January 30, 2016

Taiwan’s gross domestic product growth estimate for 2015 was revised

down to 0.85 percent by the ROC Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Jan. 29, reflecting the slowing pace of global economic recovery.

Falling 0.21 of a percentage point from the November estimate, the change stems from lackluster exports of goods and services, weak prices for materials and a drop off in fourth-quarter consumption, according to the DGBAS.

“Real exports in commodities and services fell 2.8 percent in Q4, 1.71 percentage points shy of the previous estimate, while imports decreased 1.64 percent, or 1.27 percentage points below forecast,” DGBAS official Wang Shu-chuan said.

Q4 consumption was up 1.64 percent from a year ago, buoyed by rises of 4.29 percent and 4.23 percent in tourist attraction visitors and the food and drink sector, respectively, as well the rollout of the latest smart handheld devices.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/29
By: Lin Meng-ju and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 29 (CNA) Domestic gasoline and diesel prices are expected to move higher next week to stop a three-week losing streak, pushing the benchmark 95 octane unleaded gasoline higher to return to the NT$20 (US$0.59) per liter mark, market sources said.

The expectations of higher domestic fuel prices came after international crude oil prices staged a rebound amid market speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will cut production to rein in the price plunge, the sources said.

Based on the rebound in crude oil prices Thursday, CPC Corp., Taiwan (中油) is likely to raise its gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.9 liter next week, following a NT$0.1 cut per liter for gasoline and a NT$0.4 reduction for diesel this week, the sources said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: January 29, 2016

A National Taiwan University of Science and Technology team recently

won the 2016 Ansys Hall of Fame Competition for excellence in simulation software.

Comprising Hsu Ching-chi, associate professor in applied science and technology at NTUST, as well as students Shih Po-yu and Weng Chi-hsuan, the team finished equal first with two outfits from Germany and the U.K. At total of 20 teams contested the finals of the annual competition organized by U.S.-based Ansys Inc., a leading developer of simulation software.

It is the second consecutive year for a group from the Taipei City-based tertiary institution to claim top honors in the academic category of the event.     [FULL  STORY]

DISAPPOINTING:Weaker-than-expected external demand, with exports dropping 2.8 percent last year, offset gains in domestic demand, government data showed

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 30, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

The economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 0.85 percent last year,

dragged down by persistent sluggish foreign and domestic demand, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

Annual GDP growth missed the agency’s estimate of 1.06 percent, representing the weakest pace since the 2009 global financial crisis.

The DGBAS attributed the weakness to the performance in the final quarter of last year, with the economy shrinking by 0.28 percent year-on-year, lagging far behind the agency’s forecast of 0.49 percent growth.

It was the second consecutive quarter that GDP contracted, indicating that the nation entered recession in the second half of last year, agency statistics showed.     [FULL  STORY]