Business and Finance

Watches to boost Quanta’s revenue

GOOD TIMING:As the sole assembler of Apple Watches, the timepieces are having an energizing effect on Quanta Computer’s bottom line, along with notebook items

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 28, 2015
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Quanta Computer Inc’s (廣達) revenue is expected to top NT$100 billion (US$3 billion) this month, driven by growing demand for Apple Inc’s Apple Watch and notebook computer products from other brands, analysts said.

“Apple Watch’s arrival in three more countries this month will surely benefit Quanta’s monthly sales performance,” a Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) analyst said by telephone.

Given that Quanta is the sole assembler for Apple Watch, the ramp-up in production from last month and the increasing exposure of the smartwatch worldwide will buoy the firm’s revenue, said the analyst, who declined to be named.     [FULL  STORY]

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative to visit Taiwan to attend TIFA talks

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/26
By: Elaine Hou

Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) Deputy United States Trade Representative Robert Holleyman will

from the website of the Office of the United States Trade Representative

from the website of the Office of the United States Trade Representative

lead an interagency delegation to Taiwan next week to attend talks under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), said the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Saturday.

On a visit to Taiwan Sept. 30-Oct. 2, Holleyman will be joined by officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, and Agriculture, as well as AIT officials, said the AIT, which represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties.

The delegation will attend the latest round of TIFA talks slated for Oct. 1 in Taipei with its Taiwanese counterparts.

This will be Holleyman’s first visit to Taiwan in his capacity as Deputy U.S. trade representative, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday.

During his visit, he is scheduled to meet with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Vice Premier Simon Chang (張善政), Foreign Minister David Lin (林永樂), and Economics Minister John Deng (鄧振中), the ministry said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Powerchip investment in Chinese chipmaker given green light

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-26
By: CNA

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs on Friday approved conditionally an investment plan

From left, Powerchip president Alex Wang, company chair Steve Chen and CEO Frank Huang. (File photo/Tu Chih-hao)

From left, Powerchip president Alex Wang, company chair Steve Chen and CEO Frank Huang. (File photo/Tu Chih-hao)

in a Chinese chipmaker by local firm Powerchip Technology Corporation.

The ministry’s Investment Commission approved Powerchip’s application to remit 1.4 billion yuan (US$224.3 million) to acquire shares of Hefei Hejing Electronic Company, after a review of three months.

Hefei Hejing Electronics plans to spend 13.5 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion) on a new 12-inch fab, which will produce driver ICs for LCD TV panels.

But the commission set conditions that Powerchip must remit 300 million yuan (US$47.1 million) in the initial stage and the remaining 1.1 billion (US$177.3 million) in 2018. It also stipulated that only after paying back the syndicated loans of NT$15 billion (US$453.1 million) the company obtained locally, will it be able to apply for the remittance.     [FULL  STORY]

Survey shows Taiwan’s businesses lag behind in a new world of work

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/25
By: Lo Hsiu-wen and Kuo Chung-han

Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) Companies in Taiwan are falling behind their employees’ expectations to be more collaborative, innovative and productive in a more mobile working world, according to a survey released by Microsoft Taiwan on Friday.

While 71 percent of responding employees say their companies expect them to be contactable outside of work, 77 percent of businesses here, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and big firms, do not support policies of remote working, according to the survey results which were used to compile the New World of Work (NWOW) Index.

That’s even as 69 percent of the respondents say more than 20 percent of their work time is spent outside their office, showing the policies in businesses lagging behind a change in employees’ work habits.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan does not only take cues from US on monetary policy: Perng

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-25
By: CNA

Perng Fai-nan, governor of Taiwan’s Central Bank, said Thursday that the bank’s decision

Perng Fai-nan at a press conference in Taipei, Sept. 24. (Photo/Hung Hsi-lung)

Perng Fai-nan at a press conference in Taipei, Sept. 24. (Photo/Hung Hsi-lung)

to cut its key interest rates represents a shift from a relatively accommodating monetary policy to an easy money policy and that Taiwan does not have to take cues from the United States.

Amid speculation that the US might raise interest rates toward the end of the year, Taiwan’s decision to cut its key interest rates by 0.125 percentage points has surprised some market observers, who were wondering whether Taiwan would follow the US and raise its rates.

But Perng said the Taiwan Central Bank’s monetary policy is informed mainly by commodity prices and economic performance and does not necessarily take cues from the US.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan likely in recession: economists

DOLDRUMS:Economists said interest rate cuts would have little effect if the nation continues to focus on a few industries and markets, given a slowdown in global trade

Taipei Times
Date:  Sep 26, 2015
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan is likely to have slipped into recession, as evidenced by a general slowdown in economic activity this and last quarter, driving the central bank on Thursday to cut interest rates in a bid to reverse the downturn, economists said yesterday.

The rate cut, the first in six years, may do little if companies shy away from investment and consumers tighten their belts, economists said.

“We are definitely in a recession, given sustained declines of economic data, though some may disagree about its definition,” Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute (元大寶華研究院) chairman Liang Kuo-yuan (梁國源) said by telephone.

The EU defines recession as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, as measured by the seasonal adjusted quarter-on-quarter figures for real GDP.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan GDP might bounce back in fourth quarter

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/24
By: Yang Sh-min and Lee Meiyu

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) Though forecasts from different financial institutions have indicated 201509240029t0001that there might be a bumpy road ahead for Taiwan’s economy, National Development Council Minister Duh Tyzz-jiun (杜紫軍) remained optimistic that the country’s GDP might get back on track in the fourth quarter.

On Wednesday, Yuanta-Polaries Research Institute (元大寶華研究所) slashed its economic growth forecast for Taiwan down to 1.15 percent this year, 2.17 percentage points lower than its previous estimate in June.

Meanwhile, a recent report conducted by Citigroup Inc. (花旗集團) showed that the institution has maintained its forecast of Taiwan’s GDP for 2015 at 2.0 percent. But considering the slowdown in global economic growth, Citigroup has trimmed its forecast for 2016 to 2.4 percent, down from 2.7 percent.

Duh said that recent estimates of Taiwan’s GDP growth for 2015 from different financial institutions, which include reports released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS, 主計處), remain around 1.5 percent, though these numbers will be revised later.     [FULL  STORY]

Skype co-founder seeks investment targets in Taiwan

Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-24
By: CNA

Geoffrey Prentice, co-founder of the online phone and video chat service Skype, said

Geoffrey Prentice, right, at an entrepreneurship forum in Taiwan, Sept. 23. (Photo/CNA)

Geoffrey Prentice, right, at an entrepreneurship forum in Taiwan, Sept. 23. (Photo/CNA)

Wednesday that he expects to find his next investment target in Taiwan as he is now funding Asian startups with growth potential.

Prentice, a managing partner at Oriente Holdings in Hong Kong and former chief strategy officer at Skype, said that Oriente Holdings has agreed to invest in four startups mainly in Asia, putting US$5 million to US$250 million into each of them.

The next target will be a Taiwanese startup that will be selected in the next few days after evaluating the candidates’ operations, possible market reception and communication channels, said Prentice, who is in Taiwan for one week.

He is expected to visit several Taiwanese startups and four major local incubators, including AppWorks Ventures, Garage+, InnoSquare and Taiwan Startup Stadium (TSS).

Taiwan has a lot of soft power after 40 years of innovation and its startup industry has matured with the help of the government and the private sector, Prentice said at a press briefing.     [FULL  STORY]

Growth above 1% difficult: Deng

TOUGH TIMES:The minister of economic affairs admitted to the legislature that there is not much the ministry can do to boost economic growth in the short term

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 25, 2015
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) yesterday said it would be difficult for the nation to maintain its GDP growth rate above 1 percent this year, after the latest economic data showed the economy remained sluggish last month.

Last month, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) forecast that the nation’s GDP would increase by 1.56 percent this year from last year.

“Given the challenging global environment, of course it will be difficult, but the ministry will do whatever it can to reach that goal,” Deng told lawmakers during a meeting of the Economics Committee at the legislature in Taipei.     [FULL  STORY]

China firm seeking to acquire stake in Taiwan’s Viking Tech

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/23
By: Jalen Chung, Han Ting-ting and Frances Huang

Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) Guangdong Fenghua Advanced Technology (Holding) Co. (風華高

Reproduced from Viking Tech

Reproduced from Viking Tech

科), a Chinese electronics component supplier, has tendered an offer to acquire a 35-40 percent stake in Taiwan’s Viking Tech Corp. (光頡).

Under the proposed deal, which is subject to approval by Taiwan’s Investment Commission, Fenghua is offering NT$29.8 (US$0.91) per share, a 25.7 percent premium over Viking Tech’s closing level on Tuesday.

The Chinese company is aiming to acquire 41.07 million to 46.94 million Viking Tech shares, which would make it the biggest shareholder in the Taiwanese firm.

If the deal goes through, it will be the first acquisition of a Taiwanese company by a Chinese enterprise through a tender offer.     [FULL  STORY]