Business and Finance

Compal sets sights on Silicon Valley

‘AGGRESSIVE’ ACQUISITIONS:The firm plans to buy a stake in a Taiwanese PC maker, and is targeting Silicon Valley companies in deals worth ‘several million’ US dollars each

Taipei Times
Date:  Apr 15, 2015
By: Bloomberg

Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) is in talks to buy companies in Silicon Valley and Taiwan as the contract manufacturer embarks on “aggressive” acquisitions to reduce its reliance on notebook computers.

US targets include a provider of network download software and a developer of 3D printing technology, Compal chief executive officer Ray Chen (陳瑞聰) said in an interview.

Compal is also set to buy a stake in a Taiwan-based industrial PC maker by the end of this year, he said, declining to name targets.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan regulator sets tougher provisioning for local banks’ China exposure

Reuters
Date: April 13, 2015
By: J.R. Wu; editing by John Stonestreet

(Reuters) – Taiwanese banks will need to strengthen loan coverage provisions on business related to China, in a move designed to better protect local lenders’ growing exposure to the mainland, the island’s financial regulator said on Monday.

The banks will need to increase loan loss reserves to at least 1.5 percent of total outstanding credit extended to China from 1 percent by the end of this year, according to new rules issued by the Financial Supervisory Commission.

The regulator also directed banks to strengthen their oversight on short-term trade financing.

Acer founder calls for positive thinking on Taiwan’s AIIB bid

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/13
By: Jeffrey Wu

Taipei, April 13 (CNA) Major Taiwanese computer maker Acer Inc. (宏碁) founder Stan Shih SONY DSC(施振榮) said Monday that Taiwan should think positively about a new regional development bank proposed by China, despite having had its bid to become a founding member rejected.

“Taiwan does not need to think badly of itself,” Shih told a press briefing on an innovation incubator project organized by the National Culture and Arts Foundation, of which he serves as chairman.

Taiwan should be “realistic” about its failure to become a founding member of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) due to concerns over the title it would use to join, given that the other founding members are accepted as sovereign nations rather than as economies, Shih pointed out. China does not recognize Taiwanese sovereignty.     [FULL  STORY]

Consolidation not a fix for state banks

INFLEXIBLE:Implicit requirements such as maintaining branches in unprofitable areas and preferential rates for public employees will continue to weigh on banks, Fitch said

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

The government’s efforts to promote the consolidation of state-run financial institutions will not reverse their structural weaknesses, even though the move might help them to better compete in Asia, Fitch Ratings Inc said in a recent report.

State-run financial institutions command 50 percent of the market by assets, but they tend to be less commercially oriented in operations, which leads to depressed loan pricing and weak margins compared with their private peers, the report said.

Surplus liquidity coupled with weak domestic credit demand weighs on the sector’s profitability, the report said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s 2015 credit rating remains unchanged

Taiwan Today
Date：04/10/2015

Taiwan’s long- and short-term unsolicited issuer credit ratings were left unchanged April 9 at

The robust development of Taiwan’s tourism sector is cited by S&P as a significant contributor to the nation’s strong external assets. (CNA)

The robust development of Taiwan’s tourism sector is cited by S&P as a significant contributor to the nation’s strong external assets. (CNA)

AA-minus and A-1 plus by New York-based Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services.

The result balances a strong net external asset position, ample monetary flexibility and dynamic private-sector companies with a moderate level of government debt, S&P said, adding that the stable outlook reflects expectations of sustained economic growth helping consolidate the debt position.

S&P commended the ROC Central Bank for demonstrating sound monetary management and flexibility while keeping inflation stable and among the lowest in Asia.

Although some risk of deflation is suggested by the recent negative trend in consumer prices, S&P expects Taiwan’s 2015 inflation rate to remain positive with price rebounds later in the year.     [FULL  STORY]

Stomach medicines from 13 drugmakers in Taiwan recalled

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-12
By: CNA

A total of 13 pharmaceutical companies in Taiwan have been given a recall order and are

Stomach medicines using food-grade ingredients. (Photo/Hsinchu City Government)

Stomach medicines using food-grade ingredients. (Photo/Hsinchu City Government)

facing fines for using food-grade instead of pharmaceutical-grade ingredients in their stomach medicines, the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Saturday.

In an inspection of 27 pharmaceutical firms over the past three days, it was found that 13 of them could not prove that the magnesium carbonate or calcium carbonate used in a total of 23 products were certified pharmaceutical ingredients, the FDA said.

When magnesium carbonate and calcium carbonate are used as the major ingredients in pharmaceutical products, those two compounds must be of pharmaceutical grade, which requires a certificate from their suppliers, the FDA explained.

Stan Shih to work with European firms on IoT development

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/12
By Lo Hsiu-wen and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 12 (CNA) Stan Shih (施振榮), founder of Taiwan’s personal computer maker Acer

Stan Shih (施振榮), center.

Stan Shih (施振榮), center.

(宏碁), said Sunday that a foundation he plans to establish with European companies will hold a forum in Berlin on April 16 and another one in Taipei on June 1 to promote the development of the Internet of Things (IoT).

The Stans Foundation will form the Wangdao Alliance （王道聯盟） with high technology companies in Taiwan and Europe to collaborate on IoT development, starting with the ExA Summit, Shih said.

“Wangdao”, a philosophy advocated by Confucianism, refers to using the most righteous and kind way to do thing well.     [FULL  STORY]

Largan to see significant sales rebound

SPECIFICATIONS:Analysts said the boost to the firm’s revenue would be due to increased iPhone production and camera upgrades to new Android flagship models

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

Largan Precision Co (大立光), which supplies camera lens modules for Apple Inc’s iPhones, is likely to see a double-digit percentage rebound in sales this quarter on growing demand for smartphones from non-Apple clients, after posting weaker-than-expected sales for last quarter, analysts said last week.

Moreover, the company is to reap the most benefit from the smartphone industry’s aggressive camera specification upgrades and market share gains by Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Xiaomi Corp (小米) in China and emerging markets, analysts said.

Largan is scheduled to host an investors’ conference on Thursday to offer its detailed financial results for the past quarter, as well as guidance for this quarter and the remaining quarters of the year.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan services sector index flashes 12th straight ‘green light’

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/11
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 11 (CNA) Taiwan’s service sector remained stable in February with the index flashing a “green light” for the 12th consecutive month, according to the Commerce Development Research Institute (CDRI, 商業發展研究院).

It said domestic consumption was boosted in February by strong buying before and during the Feb. 18-23 Lunar New Year holiday, Valentine’s Day, and the Feb. 28 holiday that marked the 228 Incident.

In a report dated April 7, the CDRI said its index of service industry (ISI) stood at 103 points, up from a revised 100 in January.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan vice economics minister will not discuss AIIB on China trip

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-11
By: CNA

Vice economics minister Cho Shih-chao said Thursday a Taiwanese newspaper report suggesting that he will discuss with the mainland Taiwan’s bid to join the proposed China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) during his ongoing visit there, was false.

Cho, who is on a visit to China as a member of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) delegation, said he had not and will not discuss issues related to Taiwan’s AIIB bid with China.

A Liberty Times’ report said Cho first visited the United States to talk about the issue, including what name Taiwan might use to join the AIIB, during the four-day Tomb Sweeping Festival weekend from April 3-6 and he subsequently converged in Taipei with the SEF delegation before leaving for the mainland on April 7.     [FULL  STORY]