Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-22
By: CNA

A senior executive of Taiwan’s HTC Corp denied Wednesday that the design

of one of its new smartphones had copied Apple’s iPhone, saying HTC’s is a pioneer metal-clad design.

“We’re not copying. We made a uni-body metal-clad phone in 2013. It’s Apple that copies us in terms of the antenna design on the back,” Jack Tong, president of HTC North Asia, said at a press briefing at the Taiwan launch of the One A9.

HTC enabled the ecosystem in terms of the design breakthrough in radio signals for a metal-clad phone, Tong said, referring to HTC’s One M7 that was unveiled in 2013.

“The A9 is made thinner and more lightweight than our previous metal-clad phones. This is a change and evolution, and we’re not copying,” he said.     [FULL  STORY]

RARE PHENOMENON:DGBAS deputy section head Chang Yun-yun said that the 0.01% decline in unemployment is insignificant and indicated demand for labor is weakening

Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 23, 2015
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The jobless rate eased to 3.89 percent last month, from 3.9 percent a month

earlier, dropping by the slowest pace for the period in seven years as the ongoing economic slowdown subdued a more noticeable seasonal decline, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

The unemployment reading has shed 0.08 to 0.17 percentage points each September from 2009 to last year as the job market emerges from the impact of new graduates, DGBAS deputy section head Chang Yun-yun (張雲澐) told a press conference in Taipei.

“The 0.01 percentage point decline is insignificant and a rare phenomenon at this time of the year, indicating demand for labor is weakening amid the slowdown,” Chang said.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-21
By: CNA

Taiwan’s export orders for September totaled US$41.35 billion, a

year-on-year decline of 4.5%, the country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said Tuesday.

The figures represent the sixth consecutive monthly drop, although the decline level had narrowed to 4.5% compared with the 8.3% decline for August.

Export orders totaled US$329.71 billion in the first three quarters, down 3.1% year-on-year.
It is now certain that the country’s export orders will see negative growth this year, the ministry said.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-20
By: CNA

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest

contract chip maker, rebutted a press report Monday that the company has decided to set up a 12-inch silicon wafer plant in Nanjing in eastern China.

The chip manufacturer, a supplier for US electronics giant Apple, is still evaluating an investment project in China and has not finalized it, TSMC acting spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun said, adding that the company will make a formal announcement when a decision has been made.

The Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported on the same day that TSMC had finalized its investment project to build a plant for the manufacture of 12-inch wafers in China on 16-nanometer process technology, which will begin construction by the end of this year or early next year.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/19
By: Yang Ming-chu, S.C. Chang and Romulo Huang

Tokyo, Oct. 19 (CNA) The Bankers Association of the Republic of China and

the Japanese Bankers Association signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation on Monday that pledged to jointly promote the future development of the banking industry in the two countries.

Representing their respective organizations, Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠), chairperson of the Taiwan-based bankers group, and her Japanese counterpart, Yasuhiro Sato, signed the agreement at a ceremony held in Tokyo.

Under the MOU, the two organizations will work together to create better and healthier conditions for the future development of the banking industry in the two countries by sharing information and learning from each other through seminars.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-19
By: CNA

Transactions of luxury residential properties in Taiwan’s five municipalities

decreased 50% on average in the first eight months of the year, with New Taipei recording the steepest decline of 67%, according to data released Sunday by a real estate company.

The decrease was due mainly to government policies that are aimed at reining in high-flying home prices, said Huang Shu-wei, a manager in the research department of Yung Ching Realty Group.

Other factors included growing caution among high-asset groups amid an economic slowdown, and uncertainty ahead of the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, Huang said.

Under Taiwan regulations, luxury homes are defined as housing units valued at more than NT$70 million (US$2.17 million) in the capital Taipei, more than NT$60 million (US$1.8 million) in neighboring New Taipei, and over NT$40 million (US$1.2 million) in other areas.     [FULL  STORY]