INTEGRATED LEVY:The proposal sets different taxation rates based on length of ownership. Analysts said it could be another blow to a sluggish property market

Taipei Times
Date:  May 14, 2015
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft integrated house and land sales tax with a maximum rate of 45 percent, as part of the government’s move to create a more rational taxation system and curb property speculation.

The latest proposal, which the Cabinet hopes will take effect next year after approval by the legislature, could pour cold water on an already-sluggish market, industry insiders said.

The draft plan now seeks to impose an income tax rate of between 15 percent and 45 percent on gains from selling houses or land depending on the duration of ownership.

Houses sold within one year of purchase would be subject to a tax rate of 45 percent of the trading gain, with the rate easing to 35 percent for houses owned for two years, 20 percent for 10 years and 15 percent for ownership in excess of a decade, according to the proposal.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/12
By: Jackson Chang and Frances Huang

Taipei, May 12 (CNA) Inotera Memories Inc. (華亞科), one of Taiwan’s leading dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip suppliers, said Tuesday that growth momentum in the world’s DRAM market will start to pick up in the third quarter.

On the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting, Inotera Chairman Charles Kau (高啟全) said that global DRAM demand is expected to increase from the third quarter, when international mobile device brands such as Apple, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., will launch new models to stimulate sales.

The revival in global DRAM demand is expected to follow a slowdown seen in the first half of this year, when smartphone shipments in the China market weakened, Kau said.     [FULL  STORY]

Reuters
Date: May 12, 2015
By: Faith Hung and Michelle Price

A mooted equity trading link between Hong Kong and Taiwan has been described by some traders and investors as a flawed – and potentially costly – attempt to replicate the hugely successful Hong Kong-Shanghai stock connect.

Hong Kong’s tie-up with Shanghai since November has sparked an explosion in turnover, with a flood of mainland money boosting Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd’s (HXEx) market capitalisation to nearly $4 trillion in recent weeks.

Much of the trading has exploited unique arbitrage opportunities created by the large discount between shares of Chinese companies listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong.

But such conditions do not exist for Hong Kong and Taiwan, and with their stock markets already liquid and open to foreign institutional investors, allowing direct trading on each another’s bourse would be a needless and expensive programme, many traders say.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/11
By: Wei Shu and S.C. Chang

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) The nation’s tax revenue during the first four months of this year reached NT$456 billion (US$14.82 billion), up 5.8 percent from the same period of last year and a 15-year high, the Ministry of Finance said Monday.

Want ChinaTimes
Date: 2015-05-10
By: CNA

Mothers in Taiwan generally prefer to deposit their money in banks and perceive bank deposits as the optimal way to manage their wealth, a survey released by CTBC Bank showed Saturday.

Investments in insurance policies came in second in terms of the favored wealth management method among moms in Taiwan, according to the CTBC Bank survey. CTBC Bank is the flagship banking arm of CTBC Financial Holding Co.

The survey was released ahead of the Mother’s Day on Sunday to have a better understanding of how Taiwanese mothers lay down their financial plans to meet their financial needs.

CTBC Bank said that the survey showed that most mothers in Taiwan hold a conservative attitude in wealth management since they largely place their money in bank deposits and buy insurance plans, the two safest ways to manage their funds without worries over investment losses.     [FULL  STORY]

DRIVER WANTED:After another weak quarter, a Barclays analyst said that Acer could lose its market ranking to Asustek because it lacks a strong item to propel growth

Taipei Times
Date: May 11, 2015
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

Acer Inc (宏碁) last week reported its fifth consecutive profitable quarter for last quarter, but analysts said the company is not out of the woods yet, as they do not see any major growth catalyst in the near future.

The company’s issue is not cost control, but about seeking a revenue growth driver because it would be difficult to cut costs much lower, Barclays PLC analyst Kirk Yang (楊應超) said in a note on Thursday, after Acer reported net income of NT$173 million (US$5.62 million) for the first quarter of the year.

“Unless Acer can find a way to grow its sales, now down year-on-year for 11 quarters in a row … it will experience diseconomies of scale, and we believe it could soon lose its global No. 4 PC market share position to Asustek (華碩),” Yang said.     [FULL  STORY]