Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/09
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 8 (CNA) An index that gauges the performance of Taiwan’s service sector rose in November from the previous month, indicating recovery, according to the Commerce Development Research Institute (CDRI, 商業發展研究院).

The improvement resulted partly from a NT$4 billion short term stimulus package launched by the government in October to raise consumption, said the CDRI, one of Taiwan’s leading think tanks.

It said the local central bank’s decision in September and December to lower its key interest rates each time by 0.125 percentage points also contributed to the improvement in the service sector.

The index of service industry (ISI) for November stood at 94, points, up from 92 points the previous month, and the local service sector flashed a “yellow-blue” light, improving from a “blue light” in October, the CDRI said in its monthly report.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/09
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 9 (CNA) Taiwan’s exports performance for 2015 was not the worst

in the Asian region or even in the world, although the country suffered an annual drop of more than 10 percent in outbound sales amid weakening global demand, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Saturday.

The MOEA made the comment in response to local media reports that Taiwan was lagging behind its regional competitors in the global export market, with its exports dropping by an annual 10.6 percent in 2015.

The Ministry of Finance’ monthly trade data showed Friday that Taiwan’s exports for December fell 13.9 percent from a year earlier to US$22.06 billion, dropping year-on-year for the 11th consecutive month. For the entire 2015, Taiwan’s outbound sales dipped to a six-year low of US$280.48 billion, according to the data.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: January 8, 2016

Winner of the 2016 X-site architecture initiative was announced Jan. 6 by

Taipei Fine Arts Museum, with locally based Shen Ting Tseng Architects awarded the NT$3.5 million (US$105,077) landscape installation project.

Floating, an open-air pavilion comprising a polyamide nylon canopy and a landscape sculpture, beat out 22 other contestants to claim first prize. Designed by Shen Ting-tseng and STTA members Huang Hsin-yi and Li Ya-chi, the innovative structure will grace the public square in front of the museum from April through July this year.

Runner-ups are Envision Engineering Consultants, WUIZ Design Taipei and the pairing of Lai Po-wei and Teng Chao-ming.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/08
By: Chiu Kuo-chiang and Elizabeth Hsu

Beijing, Jan. 8 (CNA) Taiwan’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) stood at 85.15 points in the fourth quarter of 2015, ranking second among four areas in the Taiwan Strait region, but Taiwanese people showed pessimism in all eight sub-indexes of the cross-strait CCI, according to survey results released Friday.

China led in the CCI for Q4 with a score of 101.6, while Hong Kong was placed third at 83 and Macau last at 82.64, the results of the cross-strait consumer confidence survey show.

In comparison with the previous quarter, the CCI climbed by 4.4 points in China, 1.3 points in Hong Kong and 1.0 point in Macau, while the index slid by 0.2 points in Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]

SIX-YEAR LOW:Exports dropped to US$22.06bn amid weak demand from all trading partners, while imports fell even more, falling 15.6 percent year-on-year last month

Taipei Times
Date: Sat, Jan 09, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s exports declined 13.9 percent year-on-year last month, as the

ongoing economic slowdown in China weakened demand for electronics ahead of the Lunar New Year and low crude prices dampened oil-related shipments, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

Outbound shipments dropped to a six-year low of US$22.06 billion last month and might remain sluggish in the coming months due to holiday disruptions and a relative high base in the first quarter of last year, the ministry said.

“The landscape might become clearer in March, when technology firms might start to build up inventory for next-generation devices,” Department of Statistics Director-General Yeh Maan-tzwu (葉滿足) told reporters.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-07
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Less than half of the companies in Taiwan will offer pay raise to their

employees this year, according to the results of a survey released Thursday.

Citing the results of the survey, online job bank 104 said only 31 percent of companies in Taiwan will raise salaries for their employees, a drop from 38 percent last year. The average pay raise also decreased from the initial 4.01 percent at the start of 2015 to the current 3.54 percent, it added.

The top five sectors showing the highest pay raises for 2016 were: finance 6.94 percent; telecommunications 5.93 percent; petrochemical 4.38 percent; restaurants 4.1 percent; and Internet software 3.98 percent.

Hua Tsi-hsing, chief operating officer at 104’s Human Resources department, said the results reflected on how well the companies performed last year.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/07
By: Jalen Chung and France Huang

Taipei, Jan. 7 (CNA) Siliconware Precision Industries Co. (矽品), the second largest integrated circuit packaging and testing services provider in Taiwan, said Thursday that the acquisition price offered by Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE, 日月光) for a stake in Siliconware is too low.

In addition, Siliconware said that the tender offer which aimed to boost ASE’s stake in Siliconware to almost 50 percent will pose the risk of potentially violating anti-trust laws.

ASE kicked off a tender offer on Dec. 29, its second tender offer in four months, to buy an additional 24.71 percent stake in Siliconware to boost its holding to 49.71 percent from the current 25 percent it acquired in the first tender offer.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-01-06
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The consumer price index (CPI) in Taiwan rose 0.14 percent last month, but

dropped 0.31 percent year-on-year in 2015, according to government statistics on Wednesday.

The December CPI increase was largely on the back of higher food prices, which were offset to some extent by declining fuel prices, the data from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed.

DGBAS Deputy Director Tsai Yu-tai pointed out that the year-on-year drop was the first since 2009, and at a time when the economy was bottoming out with low commodity prices.     [FULL  STORY]