Business and Finance

Taking lessons from Taiwan, north-east can boost economy: Experts

The Economic Times
By: Sujit Chakraborty
Date: 7 Aug, 2015

AGARTALA: States in India’s north-eastern region could flourish by taking lessons from taking-lessons-from-taiwan-north-east-can-boost-economy-expertsTaiwan and also obtaining help from its immediate neighbour Bangladesh, experts said here.

“Our small state Taiwan, now, has a global presence in the IT industry and electronic products,” said Tu Fu-Han, the director of Taipei World Trade Centre.

While attending an Information Technology conclave here on Thursday, he said: “Over the recent years Taiwan has done a lot of developments in almost all sectors, specially manufacturing and IT segments.”

“The island nation has extremely limited natural and other resources. With the help of the semi-conductor industry, including computer manufacturing, design and packing, Taiwan has been able to distinguish itself from its competitors,” he added.      [FULL  STORY]

Demand helps MediaTek revenue

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 08, 2015
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

MediaTek Inc (聯發科), which counts China as its biggest market, yesterday posted its best revenue in four months, helped by seasonal demand.

Revenue last month grew 7.8 percent to NT$17.91 billion (US$564 million), from NT$16.62 billion in June, according to a company statement. On an annual basis, last month’s revenue fell 7.05 percent from NT$19.27 billion.

The Hsinchu-based chipmaker said last week that it still expected demand to rise on seasonal factors this quarter, but the strength would be “moderate,” given sluggish end-product demand from emerging markets on unfavorable foreign exchange rates and staggering economies.     [FULL  STORY]

Exports fall on weak demand

CRUDE EFFECT:Ministry of Finance statistics head Yeh Maan-tzwu said a decline in mineral exports widened last month as crude oil prices dropped to US$54.19 a barrel

Taipei Times
Date:  Aug 08, 2015
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Exports contracted further last month from the same period last year as demand for electronics remained weak and steeper crude oil price declines sapped non-technology exports, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

Outbound shipments dropped 11.9 percent to US$23.55 billion last month, surprisingly down by double digits for the second straight month, though the pace eased from a 13.9 percent fall in June, Department of Statistics Director Yeh Maan-tzwu (葉滿足) said.     [FULL  STORY]

AllPay becomes Taiwan’s 1st third-party payment operator

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-07
By: Staff Reporter

AllPay Third-Party Payment has become the first company granted permission to operate

AllPay chairman Calvin Lin. (Photo/ Hung Si-lung)

AllPay chairman Calvin Lin. (Photo/ Hung Si-lung)

an online third-party payment service in Taiwan, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

Calvin Lin, AllPay’s chairman, said the company’s service will be launched as early as September. Users will be able to pay with its app at places such as convenience stores, chain restaurants, breakfast vendors, taxies, and night markets. The users will be able to use the service by linking AllPay accounts with their bank accounts or creating an AllPay online saving account, he said. Friends can use its service to split bills since the service will not charge extra fees, Lin added.     [FULL  STORY]

Acer earns slim profit in second quarter

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/06
By: Jeffrey Wu

Taipei, Aug. 6 (CNA) Taiwanese computer maker Acer Inc. (宏碁) reported a slim profit

Photo courtesy of Acer.

Photo courtesy of Acer.

for the second quarter of 2015, bracing for delayed purchases prior to the launch of the Windows 10 operating system by adjusting its product strategy and cutting costs.

The New Taipei-based manufacturer reported net income of NT$2 million (US$79,000) for the April-June quarter and earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.0008.

Operating income was NT$890 million during the second quarter on consolidated revenue of NT$60.2 billion, which decreased 11.4 percent from the previous quarter.

Acer said its second-quarter operating margin of 1.48 percent improved significantly from 0.45 percent in the first quarter, reflecting the company’s effective revival plans.     [FULL  STORY]

Chan Chin-wei makes quarters

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 07, 2015
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter, with AP, STANFORD, California

Taiwan’s Chan Chin-wei advanced to the quarter-finals of the doubles at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, on Wednesday, while Alison Riske had a change of luck in the singles.

Chan and Darija Jurak of Croatia were 6-4, 7-5 victors over Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia and Anna Tatishvili of the US in the first round of the doubles at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium at Stanford University.

The Taiwanese-Croatian duo saved five of 10 break points and converted seven of 11, winning 69 of the 131 points contested to wrap up the straight-sets victory in 1 hour, 31 minutes.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves increase

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/06
By: Pan Chi-i and Lauren Hung

Taipei, Aug. 6 (CNA) Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves increased by US$545 million to 201508060049t0001US$421.96 billion as of the end of July, according to a statement issued by the Central Bank Wednesday.

The bank attributed the increase mainly to profits generated by investments made with the nation’s foreign exchange reserves.

The balances of stocks, bonds and deposits denominated in New Taiwan Dollars held by foreign investors was US$ 277.6 billion as of the end of July, accounting for 66 percent of Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves, the central bank added.     [FULL  STORY]

US Trade Day in Taipei expected to create US$416m in orders

Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-06
By: CNA

The US Trade Day show, held Wednesday in Taipei, is expected to create business

Buyers and sellers pose for a photo at the event in Taipei, Aug. 5. (Photo/CNA)

Buyers and sellers pose for a photo at the event in Taipei, Aug. 5. (Photo/CNA)

opportunities worth US$416 million, according to one of the co-organizers.

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), a government-sponsored trade promotion organization, said in a post-event statement that the estimate includes US$212 million in procurement orders placed by 15 US buyers and US$204 million in orders placed by nine US sellers.

The result greatly outperformed last year’s event, when combined orders worth US$282 million were placed by 13 US buyers and nine US sellers.

Now in its fourth year, the 2015 US Trade Day was co-organized by TAITRA and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to promote investment in the United States.     [FULL  STORY]

HTC forecasts more losses for quarter

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY:The firm said that it would optimize its product mix and focus on profitability through premier smartphones instead of growing market share

Taipei Times
Date: Fri, Aug 07, 2015
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday said it might post a loss of NT$5.51 to NT$5.85 per share this quarter, after reporting a loss of NT$9.7 per share last quarter.

Revenue is also expected to drop to between NT$19 billion and NT$22 billion (US$598.33 million and US$692.8 million) this quarter, down by between 33.33 percent and 42.42 percent from NT$33 billion last quarter, HTC said.

HTC chief financial officer and president of global sales Chang Chia-lin (張嘉臨) said the forecast for this quarter was a result of a “transition period” for the company’s products.     [FULL  STORY]

Hon Hai announces ambitious plans to invest in India

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/05
By: Ho Horn-ru and Frances Huang

New Delhi, Aug. 5 (CNA) Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (鴻海), the 201508050011t0001world’s largest contract electronics maker, announced Tuesday evening a 10-year investment plan in India.

In a news conference held during his visit to New Delhi, Terry Gou (郭台銘), chairman of Hon Hai, which is also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康) outside Taiwan, said that the future investments in the South Asian country will not be limited to product assembly.

Instead, Gou said that Hon Hai is expected to bring a supply chain to India in an effort to carry out a long-term strategic investment project in the country.

It was the second visit for Gou to India in one month. Market analysts said that the frequent visits to India by Gou showed that Hon Hai has placed much attention on the populous nation in South Asia, and has hopes to penetrate the huge market by building a massive production base.     [FULL  STORY]