Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-14
By: CNA

Taiwan’s statistics office is likely to cut Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth

for 2015 to around 2.68% after the country reported disappointing second-quarter GDP data, sources said Thursday.

The expected downgrade will reflect weakening global demand at a time when several major economies, including China, show signs of a slowdown, the sources said.

At the end of July, the DGBAS reported that the GDP for the second quarter grew only 0.64%–lagging far behind its previous estimate of 3.05% growth– citing lower-than-expected export growth.

After the poor second-quarter GDP data was released, fears have been mounting that the economy is unlikely to grow at a pace of 3% for 2015 as the ministry had previously forecast.      [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/13
By: Jeffrey Wu

Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp. (宏達電) said Thursday it

will reduce its global workforce by 15 percent as part of a business realignment plan to seek “significant profitable growth with a leaner and more agile operating model.”

The program includes the establishment of new business units to create profitable growth in the company’s key areas of premium smartphones, virtual reality and connected lifestyle products, HTC said in an emailed statement.

“HTC is an inspirational company driven by innovative people, with a unique blend of expertise in hardware and software integration, advanced technology and world-class design,” said Cher Wang (王雪紅), chairwoman and chief executive officer of HTC.     [FULL  STORY]

Want hina Times
Date: 2015-08-13
By: CNA

Shares of Taiwan-based smartphone vendor HTC took a beating Thursday morning after

the company announced a day earlier a temporary halt of sales of the bigger version of its flagship HTC One M9 model in the Netherlands due to reported problems about 4G LTE connectivity, dealers said.

The current selling also showed lingering concerns over the company’s outlook after the smartphone vendor gave gloomy guidance last month for the third quarter that pointed to a net loss of more than NT$5 (US$0.16) per share, the dealers said.

As of 11:01 am, shares of HTC had fallen 8.36% to NT$50.40 (US$1.57), with 19.71 million shares changing hands. The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange was up 0.14% at 8,294.92 points.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/12
By: Wang Cheng-chung and Maria Tsai

Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) The Council of Agriculture (COA) said Wednesday that it is planning

to introduce 30,000 young workers into the agriculture sector over a 10-year period to deal with the problem of dwindling agricultural production and an aging population in the sector in Taiwan.

In a report to the Executive Yuan, the COA said it is important to bring younger people into agriculture as way of dealing with issues such as declining production, aging agricultural workers, and a lack of efficiency on small farms.

As part of a project to create a better farming environment, the COA said, it will seek to attract greater interest in agriculture and bring 30,000 young farmers into the sector over a period of 10 years.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-12
By: CNA

Business leaders in Taiwan said Tuesday that a moderate depreciation of the Taiwan

dollar will help the nation’s exports after the currency tumbled that day.

China’s depreciation of its yuan triggered a wave of Asian currency falls Tuesday, with the Taiwan dollar shedding NT$0.320 to close at NT$32.080 against the US dollar.

Both Tsai Lien-sheng, secretary-general of the Chinese National Federation of Industries, and Lai Cheng-yi, head of the General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China, said the depreciation of the Taiwan dollar will be helpful to the country’s exports.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/11
By: Jeffrey Wu

Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) Taiwan’s Inventec Corp. (英業達), one of the world’s largest

contract laptop makers, reported Tuesday its lowest quarterly net income in the past 10 quarters as expenses and exchange losses rose.

The Taipei-based company, which assembles laptops for Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., said its second-quarter net income stood at NT$931 million (US$28.86 million), the lowest level since it posted NT$342 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The April-June net profit declined by 27 percent from the previous quarter and by 38 percent from a year ago, as Inventec booked an exchange rate loss of NT$87 million and increasing operating expenses for the quarter.     [FULL  STORY]