Want China Times
Date: 2015-03-28
By: CNA

Taiwan’s consumer confidence index (CCI) rose to its highest level ever in February as the

country’s economic climate continued to show signs of improvement.

National Central University, which conducts the monthly consumer confidence survey, said the CCI rose 1.69 points from a month earlier to 91.13, the highest the index has ever been since the university started the survey in January 2004.

Among the CCI’s six sub-indexes in the CCI, which reflect how consumers feel about aspects of Taiwan’s economy over the coming six months, five trended higher in February while one sub-index registered a month-on-month fall, the survey found.

The university said the stock investment sub-index showed the highest month-on-month gain of 7.50 points from a month earlier as it improved to 104.80, followed by a 2.05-point gain in the business climate sub-index to 87.65.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/03/27
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) Taiwan’s economy continued to enjoy positive momentum in February, with a government indicator of business activity flashing a green light for the second consecutive month, signaling steady growth, the country’s economic planning body said Friday.

The score of the nine indicators that comprise the composite index increased one point to 24 for February, thanks to strong domestic demand and rising private investment, according to a regular report on the domestic economy released by the National Development Council that day.

The report said that among the nine components, the TAIEX average closing price and imports of machinery and electrical equipment each gained one point to change their signals from green to yellow-red.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-03-27
By: CNA

Samsung Electronics launched the newest version of its flagship Galaxy S smartphone series

in Taiwan on Thursday, with the aim of regaining the largest market share in the country, which is currently held by Apple.

Andy Tu, general manager of Samsung Taiwan’s information technology and mobile communication team, said the South Korean company is targeting a market share of over 20% in Taiwan by sales value starting in April. Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are scheduled to hit Taiwan stores on April 10.

Samsung hopes it will regain the title of the top smartphone maker in Taiwan by sales volume, sales value and single model in the second quarter because it has also strengthened its product offering in the mid-range and entry-level segments, Tu said.     [FULL  STORY]

Want China Times
Date: 2015-03-26
By: CNA

The Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute raised its forecast of Taiwan’s gross domestic product

growth for 2015 Wednesday to 3.66%, up by 0.21 percentage points from the previous estimate made in December last year.

Yuanta-Polaris, one of Taiwan’s leading economic think tanks, said the upgrade partly reflects stronger private consumption, while the greater contribution of net exports is expected to boost the economy this year as well.

However, the local economy remains shadowed by the persistent drought that has prompted the government to implement water rationing in certain areas, the think tank said.

In addition, a possible interest rate hike cycle to be launched by the US Federal Reserve could impose more uncertainty over the local economic climate, the think tank added.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/03/25
By: Jeffrey Wu

Taipei, March 25 (CNA) Taiwan Mobile Co. (台灣大哥大), the country’s second-largest mobile provider, said Wednesday that it is unlikely to cancel its unlimited data plans for its fourth-generation (4G) mobile network in 2015.

Taiwan Mobile will not become the first local carrier to end the “all-you-can-eat” offering for 4G users, given that its bigger rival, Chunghwa Telecom Co. (中華電信), has not disclosed any similar decision, President James Jeng (鄭俊卿) told CNA on the sidelines of the Taiwan Internet Trend Seminar.

There will be “a slim chance” of seeing unlimited 4G data plans totally pulled from the market this year, Jeng forecast, adding that other carriers might intend to put an end to their unlimited low-priced 4G plans in order to raise their initial prices for such packages and boost profits.     [FULL  STORY]

DRYING UP?Exports contracted 1.3 percent for the first two months of this year, but cheaper crude oil prices helped lower import costs, government data showed

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 26, 2015
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The ongoing drought poses a serious downside risk to the economy, which has achieved

stability as cheaper fuel expenses boost corporate profits and consumer spending, Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute (元大寶華研究院) said yesterday.

Water rationing could affect the output of major industries by up to 20 percent, removing as much as 0.825 percentage point from GDP growth this year — if the drought persists, institute chairman Liang Kuo-yuan (梁國源) said on the sidelines of a quarterly news conference.

However, the chances of that outcome coming to pass are diminishing amid this week’s precipitation and the upcoming monsoon season, the economist said.     [FULL  STORY]