Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-22
By: Chia Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan is to be cut by about a third after March 20th, said the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA) Friday, after they received reports from local travel agencies saying that they have been notified with such information from their Chinese counterparts.

The number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan is to be cut by about a third after March 20th, said the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA) Friday, after they received reports from local travel agencies saying that they have been notified with such information from their Chinese counterparts.

Lee Chia-bin, head of the TSTA, said today that the cut in tourists number seems to be the real deal, as more and more local agencies have come to report about their Chinese counterparts’ decision to lower the number of Taiwan-bound tour groups. However, given there is no official notification from the Beijing government, the authenticity of such information remains to be verified.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/21
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Kay Liu

Taipei, Jan. 21 (CNA) President Chain Store Corp., operator of the 7-Eleven chain in Taiwan, has increased the price of its tea eggs, an item unique to Taiwanese convenience stores.

The 7-Eleven convenience store chain, the largest in Taiwan with just over 5,000 stores, on Wednesday hiked the price of its tea eggs from NT$8 (US$0.24) to NT$10 each.

According to 7-Eleven, the decision was made based on the fact that farm prices of eggs have climbed 25 percent in the past five years.

Council of Agriculture statistics showed that in December 2015, farm prices of eggs had reached NT$56.1 per kilogram, up 5.6 percent from a year earlier.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/20
By: Wang Shu-fen and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Jan. 20 (CNA) Evergreen Group founder Chang Yung-fa (張榮發),

who died at the age of 88 on Wednesday, will likely leave his vast wealth to charity based on repeated statements he made while still alive.

Chang, one of the richest men in the world with assets worth about US$1.6 billion, said at a gathering with the media in 2012 that he would donate all of his assets to the foundation in his name for charity.

He also said at the time that he would leave nothing to his five children but still expected them to continue to do good deeds to help more people in need.

Chang started with only one old vessel when he founded Evergreen Marine Corp. in 1968, but the venture grew to become the world’s largest container company in 1985.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-19
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corp (TDCC) on Monday presented its

fiscal review for last year, citing a NT$4.73 earning per share as a result of TDCC’s newly-expanded services, including its digitalized finance dubbed “Bank 3.0.”

Led by TDCC Chairman Sherman Lin and President Meng Ching-li, the two top executives have plans to mirror the company’s success with the introduction of up-and-coming digital services for the new fiscal year.

Lin, the newly-appointed chairman since January, said TDCC’s diversified services have helped them consolidate their finances through austerity measures.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/19
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) Deputy Finance Minister Wu Tang-chieh (吳當傑) expressed optimism Tuesday about the prospects for Taiwan’s stock market in 2016, citing three main factors.

Wu, who is a manager of the National Financial Stabilization Fund, said the first factor is the end of the political uncertainty that had preceded Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections.

Second, although foreign institutional investors have been net sellers of Taiwan shares in the past several trading sessions, they have not taken their funds out of the country, he said.

The third major factor is the “relatively stable” performance of the Taiwan bourse since the start of the year, compared with international markets, Wu said.     [FULL  STORY]