STAYING AFLOAT: IDB has issued NT$734 million in subsidies to help companies pay wages last month for up to 33,957 employees, and it plans another NT$1.12 billion

Taipei Times
Date: May 08, 2020
By: Natasha Li / Staff reporter

Industrial Development Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Chih-ching, left, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times

Of the approved applications, 280 are from base metal and machinery equipment makers, 188 are from consumer goods and chemical materials manufacturers, and 120 are from information and communication technology companies, IDB data showed.

The remaining applications are from businesses across various sectors, such as design, tourism and knowledge-based industries.

“Applications are still pouring in and we are receiving an average of 100 applications per day,” IDB Deputy Director-General Yang Chih-ching (楊志清) said at a news briefing in Taipei.
[FULL  STORY]

Those returning worry about wage gap, glass ceiling, lack of support from coworkers

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/06
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(Getty Image photo)

According to a recent poll, the main reason for Taiwanese women remaining out of the workforce after giving birth is that their jobs have often been taken by the time they are ready to return.

Taiwan is doing better with gender equality in the workplace than other Asian nations, but the Garden of Hope Foundation drew attention on Wednesday (May 6) to the reality that the gender wage gap and glass ceiling, however improved, still remain serous issues in the country.

Women in Taiwan tend to take primary responsibility for childcare; up to 83 percent of those who took parental leave in 2018 were women.    [FULL  STORY]

Renewable Energy Magazine
Date: 06 May 2020

Climeon has received its first order within geothermal heat power in Taiwan, a new geographical market for the company. The order comes from Baseload Power Taiwan and includes Climeon Heat Power systems as well as design and consultancy services for the surrounding power plant. The total order value amounts to about $4 million.

The target is to deliver the heat power modules by the end of the year. Associated design and consultancy services will be delivered as the project progresses. The power plant is expected to be one of the first commercial geothermal heat power plants in the country.

­ “We are proud to continue our global expansion through a first order in Taiwan. The geological conditions combined with financial incentives for green electricity production makes Taiwan an interesting market with great potential for Climeon,” says Thomas Öström, CEO of Climeon.

“Taiwan is a prioritized market for Baseload Capital and we are very happy be able to start executing on a first power plant in the country,” says Van Hoang, president of Baseload Power Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/06/2020
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Evelyn Kao

CNA file photo

The CPI for April fell 0.97 percent from a year earlier following an 8.56 percent drop in transportation and communications costs and a 35.5 percent plunge in fuel prices caused by plummeting international crude prices, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

Education and entertainment costs were also down 1.8 percent from a year earlier in April, as hotel operators cut prices by 15.44 percent and travel agencies slashed the price of domestic tours by 4.6 percent to attract consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the DGBAS added.

Bucking the downturn, food prices rose 1.27 percent from a year earlier in April, with the price of fruit up 14.18 percent, but with the cost of eggs and vegetables dropping 13.63 percent and 7.32 percent, respectively, to offset soaring food prices, according to the DGBAS.
[FULL  STORY]

CPC Corp., Taiwan gas stations were the target on Monday May 4

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/05
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A Formosa Petrochemical gas station  (CNA photo)

The company said it had shut down its computer system, but its refining and petrochemical activities had not been affected, CNA reported. Its gas stations would be unable to compute their income for the day, but otherwise, the stations were operating normally and serving customers.

While technical experts were working on restoring the system to normal, it was impossible to tell when the task would be completed, Formosa Petrochemical said.

In Monday’s (May 4) ransomware attack on CPC, payment by VIP cards or electronic transaction apps had become impossible, though cash and credit cards were still acceptable. The oil company named identity theft as the likely target of the malware attack on its systems.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/05/2020
By: Su Ssu-yun and Frances Huang

Taipei, May 5 (CNA) Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves continued their rise to a new high at the end of April, despite the economic impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, taking the country to the fourth spot in forex reserves holdings in the world, the central bank said Tuesday.

Taiwan surpassed Saudi Arabia, moving up one notch to fourth place in April, with forex reserves as of April up US$1.397 billion from a month earlier to US$481.78 billion, according to data compiled by the central bank.

According to the bank, China remained in the top spot in the rankings after reporting US$3.06 trillion in forex reserves as of the end of March, down US$46.1 billion from a month earlier.

Japan came in second, after reporting US$1.296 trillion in forex reserves at the end of March, up US$7.5 billion from a month earlier, ahead of Switzerland, which owned US$791.2 billion in forex reserves as of the end of March, down US$4 billion from a month earlier.   [FULL  STORY]

NEGATIVE SENTIMENT: Although the number of infections is low in Taiwan, people still refrained from making large purchases on concerns that the virus might persist

Taipei Times
Date: May 06, 2020
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Virus Outbreak: Virus dampens home-buying interest
NEGATIVE SENTIMENT: Although the number of infections is low in Taiwan, people still refrained from making large purchases on concerns that the virus might persist
By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
Housing transactions last month totaled 17,603 units in the six special municipalities, down 11.2 percent from one month earlier, as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on buying interest, analysts said.
“Prospective buyers turned conservative as the virus outbreak wreaked havoc on major economies around the world, with the US’ GDP shrinking 4.8 percent last quarter,” the worst since the global financial crisis, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) spokesman Jay Hsieh (謝志傑) said.
Although the number of infections is low in Taiwan, consumers have refrained from purchases of durable goods for fear the disease might persist and weaken household incomes, Hsieh said.
Taipei 101, center, and other high-rise buildings are pictured in Taipei on Jan. 21.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times

“Prospective buyers turned conservative as the virus outbreak wreaked havoc on major economies around the world, with the US’ GDP shrinking 4.8 percent last quarter,” the worst since the global financial crisis, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) spokesman Jay Hsieh (謝志傑) said.

Although the number of infections is low in Taiwan, consumers have refrained from purchases of durable goods for fear the disease might persist and weaken household incomes, Hsieh said.

Taichung reported the steepest monthly decline of 21.4 percent to 3,314 units, while Kaohsiung posted a 13.1 percent retreat to 2,684 deals, the broker said, citing data from respective local governments.    [FULL  STORY]

Economic minister says government could distribute coupons as early as May

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/04
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin.  (CNA photo)

Prior to his report on the project at the Legislative Yuan, Shen pointed out that the updated version of the stimulus coupons will allow Taiwanese citizens to choose between hard copies, electronic payments, or electronic stored-value cards. He told the media that the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) received complaints about the inconvenience of the original coupon design and has thus decided to adopt a more flexible approach to distributing them.

As part of a campaign to counter the effects of the ongoing pandemic on the country's economy, the government announced in late February that it would provide NT$2 billion (US$66 million) worth of coupons to be used at night markets, shops, and restaurants.

However, originally, each individual would have to spend at least NT$4,000 (US$134) before they could use an NT$1,000 coupon. Shen said that the MOEA has made a slight change since February and that individuals will now be able to enjoy an NT$500 discount with each NT$1,000 that they spend, reported Liberty Times.    [FULL  STORY]