Business and Finance

Taiwan may open equity market to Chinese retail investors soon: FSC

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/28
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗), chairman of 201511280010t0001the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), said Saturday that starting in January, Taiwan may allow Chinese retail investors to buy shares in the local equity market, in a bid to boost the trading volume.

The FSC, the top financial regulator in Taiwan, has been consulting with other relevant government agencies on the issue, taking into the account a suggestion by local stock brokerages to lift the ban on such investment, Tseng said.

He said a decision may be made by January next year to allow Chinese retail investors to put funds into the local equity market.     [FULL  STORY]

Listed firms post higher profit despite slower economy

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-28
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang, Central News Agency

Companies listed on the local main board and the over-the-counter (OTC) market enjoyed improving profitability for the first nine months of this year, even though the local economy showed signs of a slowdown, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

The FSC cited statistics as saying that more than 1,550 listed companies on the main board and the OTC market posted NT$1.5 trillion (US$45.73 billion) in aggregate pretax profit for the nine-month period, up 6.52 percent from a year earlier.

Tseng Ming-chung, head of the FSC, said Saturday that the earnings report showed that Taiwanese firms remained profitable, so Taiwan’s equity market is worth investing in.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan central bank expected to maintain interest rates in December

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/28
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Scholars in Taiwan said Saturday that the country’s central bank is unlikely to change its key interest rates at its quarterly policymaking meeting on Dec. 17.

The central bank quarterly meeting will be held right after a similar one by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is scheduled to end in the early hours of Dec. 17 Taipei time.

While the Fed is widely expected to launch an interest rate hike cycle in December, Taiwan’s central bank is unlikely to follow suit as it wants to maintain high liquidity in an effort to boost the domestic economy, according to local scholars.    [FULL  STORY]

Domestic fuel prices could rise next week

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-27
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Gasoline and diesel prices in Taiwan are expected to rise next week in the wake of a rebound in international crude oil prices amid geopolitical tension, market sources said Friday.

The impact of political concerns after the downing of a Russian military jet by Turkey near the Syrian boarder was offset to some extent by renewed concerns over a global supply glut, which capped a hike in domestic fuel prices, the sources said.

They said that state-owned CPC Corp., Taiwan is likely to raise gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.2 (US$0.06) to NT$0.3 next week, following a decision to cut fuel prices by NT$0.7 this week.

CPC calculates its weekly fuel prices based on a weighted oil price formula that comprises 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude.    [FULL  STORY]

Key indicators show economic sluggishness in October

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/27
By: Yang Shu-min and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) Taiwan’s economic indicators flashed a blue light for the

From the National Development Council website

From the National Development Council website

fifth consecutive month in October, indicating a sluggish economy, the National Development Council (NDC) said Friday.

The overall composite score of the business monitoring indicators was 15 points, one point up from the previous month. It was the sixth time that Taiwan’s key economic indicator had flashed a blue light this year.

The indicator first flashed a blue light in April, followed by a yellow-blue light when the overall score rose to 18 points in May. It flashed another blue light in June, then a 14-point blue light from July to September, the lowest since May 2012.

The council employs a five-color system to gauge the country’s economic performance, with blue indicating a sluggish economy, yellow-blue representing an economic slump, green denoting stable growth, yellow-red referring to a warming economy, and red pointing to an overheated economy.     [FULL  STORY]

EDITORIAL: The spirit and letter of the law

Taipei Times
Editorial
Date: Nov 28, 2015

Former Council of Labor Affairs minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) has become the latest politician to discover, much to their chagrin, that running for higher office brings with it a greater scrutiny of their professional and personal life.

While she and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) might have expected her to face criticism after KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) chose her as his running mate for the Jan. 16 presidential election, they probably were not expecting the firestorm that has erupted over her living arrangements and real-estate dealings.

That they did not expect it reflects poorly on Chu, Wang, the KMT and society at large.

Wang, a lawyer by training and vocation, insists that she has done nothing illegal and that most of the real-estate purchases made by her or family members took place when she was a private citizen.

Her complaint that criticism over the subsidized apartment in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) where she and her husband live — including questions about their eligibility and the rent they pay — does not take into account the additional monthly fees that they pay or the money they spent to renovate it shows a disconnect from reality. Given the couple’s combined salaries and assets, they could have easily afforded to rent or buy an apartment if they needed to be closer to work.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei’s most expensive parking space costs nearly $US253,000

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-11-26
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, Nov. 26 (CNA) Along with Taipei’s sky-high housing prices, buying a parking space in the capital city is a very costly endeavor, with the most expensive one priced at NT$8.2 million (US$252,392), according to surveys conducted by local realtors.

The most expensive parking spaces were found to be those at a luxury compound in the Xinyi District, which were sold at NT$8.2 million each in July 2014, the realtors said. The compound itself is also among the most expensive houses in Taipei.

Lang Mei-nan of Great Home Realty said that expensive houses usually come with costly parking spaces. With a budget of NT$8.2 million, some could afford to buy an apartment in neighboring New Taipei, Lang said, trying to explain how expensive such a parking space is.     [FULL  STORY]

Nearly 40% of Taiwan workers earn under NT$30,000 per month: poll

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/26
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 26 (CNA) While the primary income for full-time workers in Taiwan 201511260030t0001was NT$37,413 (US$1,150) per month on average, 3.35 million employees, or 37.93 percent of the total, earned a monthly salary of less than NT$30,000, according to a report from the 2015 manpower utilization survey released Thursday.

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) conducts the manpower utilization survey in May every year to exclude the seasonal effects of the graduation season and Chinese New Year.

According to this year’s survey, among the country’s 8.48 million employees, the primary monthly income for full-time workers was NT$37,413 on average, an increase of NT$528 from the same period of last year.     [FULL  STORY]

MOEA mulls PRC capital for IC sector

CAUTIOUS:The planned regulations are to include certain rules to prevent local IC designers from moving their operations to China, the minister of economic affairs said

Taipei Times
Date:  Nov 27, 2015
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) yesterday said the ministry is

Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng answers questions during a meeting of the legislature’s Financial Committee at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng answers questions during a meeting of the legislature’s Financial Committee at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

drafting new regulations to allow Chinese investment in Taiwan’s IC design industry.

“I hope it would not take too long to ease the restrictions on Chinese investments … but the ban will not be eased if a set of corresponding measures are not drafted completely,” Deng told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee.

Asked if the planned easing would take effect before the Lunar New Year holiday next year, Deng said there is no time frame for the issue, but he hopes to lift the ban before his term ends in May.

Deng said Taiwanese IC design companies must assure the government that they would not move their operations overseas after it allows Chinese investment.

The planned regulations are to include rules to prevent Taiwan’s core IC design technologies or IC designers from being “inappropriately” transferred to China.    [FULL  STORY]

TSMC’s Chang threatens China move over protests

DEMOCRATIC CONSTRAINTS:As the president visited a TSMC factory, Morris Chang bemoaned the objections of environmental groups and a possible electricity shortfall

Taipei Times
Date:  Nov 26, 2015
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman Morris Chang

President Ma Ying-jeou, left, listens as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co chairman Morris Chang promotes energy saving at the company’s Taichung branch yesterday. Photo: CNA

President Ma Ying-jeou, left, listens as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co chairman Morris Chang promotes energy saving at the company’s Taichung branch yesterday. Photo: CNA

(張忠謀) yesterday said electricity supply constraints and protests from environmental protection groups are its main concerns over its Taiwanese investments.

Chang made the remarks during President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) visit to a TSMC factory in Taichung. The factory is undergoing second-phase expansion and is scheduled to begin producing advanced 10-nanometer chips next year.

The world’s largest contract chipmaker said its Taichung project had been hampered by constant objections from environmental protection groups, who say that industrial waste from the factory could threaten the surrounding environment and local communities.     [FULL  STORY]