Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-14
By: CNA

EVA Airways (EVA), one of Taiwan’s leading airlines, said high-end business travelers,

including people in the oil business, will be its major passenger base on the Taipei-Houston route set to be launched June 19.

EVA president Austin Cheng told CNA during the just-concluded annual meeting of the International Airline Transport Association (IATA) in Miami, Florida that he expects the route to serve especially oil businessmen.

There are many such businesspeople traveling between oil-rich Houston and Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Cheng said.

“We hope to make Taiwan another ideal transfer option for these business travelers,” he said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/12
By: Wu Ching-chin and Lilian Wu

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Tseng

Ming-tsung (曾銘宗) said on Friday that he will learn about how the United Kingdom operates its digital finance system and see if there are opportunities for cooperation on Chinese yuan products during his upcoming visit of the UK.

Tseng will lead a delegation to London on Saturday to attend the 40th annual conference of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) there.

He noted that a lot of securities leaders will attend the conference, and he will take the opportunity to exchange views with them.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-12
By: CNA

Taiwan’s government will likely invest about NT$11 billion (US$355.6 million) to gain

membership in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), finance minister Chang Sheng-ford said Thursday, revising his earlier estimate of NT$2.2 billion (US$354 million).

The estimated amount was increased sharply because of “changes in the circumstances” surrounding the recent passage of the bank’s charter, Chang told the press.

Under the AIIB’s the newly confirmed charter, Asian members will contribute 75% of the total capitalization, while non-Asian members will make up the other 25%.

Judging from South Korea’s share, Taiwan will likely have to invest about NT$11 billion to be accepted as a member. The funds are payable later in the year when the AIIB charter becomes effective, Chang said.     [FULL  STORY]

BIG PLANS:Asustek held ‘informal internal’ talks on the ailing smartphone maker. It forecasts a doubling of sales of its own phones and is exploring the robots business

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 13, 2015
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) yesterday said the company does

not rule out acquiring smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電), which last week said it might post a loss this quarter.

“We had an informal internal discussion regarding this matter [acquisition]… However, to make a decision, we need to consider [both companies’] intentions and evaluate whether it is the correct strategy,” Shih told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting.

Shih said he believed HTC was seeking and analyzing countermeasures to solve its problems, and he hoped the company would be able to turn its business around.

In contrast to HTC’s cloudy outlook, Asustek remains upbeat about its smartphone business.

Asustek CEO Jerry Shen (沈振來) told shareholders that the company is confident that annual smartphone shipments would grow to between 17 million and 25 million units from last year’s 8.5 million, backed by strong Chinese demand.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/11
By: Wei Shu and S.C. Chang

Taipei, June 11 (CNA) Taiwan’s government will likely invest about NT$11 billion (US$355.60

million) to gain membership in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford said Thursday, revising his earlier estimate of NT$2.2 billion.

The estimated amount was increased sharply because of “changes in the circumstances” surrounding the recent passage of the bank’s charter, Chang told the press.

Under the AIIB’s the newly confirmed charter, Asian members will contribute 75 percent of the total capitalization, while non-Asian members will make up the other 25 percent.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-11
By: CNA

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chip maker, on

Wednesday reported a drop in sales for May, its lowest figure in three months.

The company posted NT$70.16 billion (US$2.26 billion) in consolidated sales for May, down 6.9% from the previous month but up 15.4% year-on-year.

It was the chip maker’s lowest monthly sales data since February, when it posted revenue of NT$62.65 billion (US$2.02 billion).

In the first five months of the year, TSMC’s consolidated sales rose 35.7% year-on-year to NT$367.52 billion (US$11.9 billion).     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-10
Editorial

An investor checks the stock prices at a trading center in Taipei, June 4. (File photo/CNA)

The Taiwan Stock Exchange on June 1 relaxed its daily trading limit to 10% and raised its account collateral maintenance ratio to 130%, allowing the stock market to better react to bullish or bearish factors, and make market order more transparent and neutral. Originally the move was expected to bring the Taipei stock market closer to international bourses but Taiwan stocks have performed poorly with shrinking turnover and stagnant momentum.

The cold market response to the liberalization is partially attributable to the stagnant international stock market. Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford believes investors may not yet be familiar with the new rule and may need some more time to adjust to it. However, recent statistics showed that Taiwan’s exports fell, export orders dropped, while the government’s statistics agency unexpectedly lowered its projection for Q2 GDP growth on unfavorable fundamentals. He added that the Taiex is seen to possess higher risks approaching the 10,000-point benchmark, while the electronics industry is facing a slow season in May and June, creating unfavorable factors for the stock market.     [FULL  STORY]