Flights from Hong Kong and Macau also not allowed to land, likely due to 'one China' principle

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/02/01
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Feb. 1 20:04 Update: Taoyuan Intl. Airport Co. told media on Saturday evening that the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has removed the border control against Taiwan but it remains on China, Hong Kong, and Macau. The reason for the change has yet to be made known.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After Italy halted all direct flights from Taiwan on Friday (Jan. 31), Vietnam followed suit on Saturday (Feb. 1) as part of drastic measures to prevent transmission of the coronavirus 2019-nCoV.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Italy's decision was made under the misconception that Taiwan is part of China, as the same order also applies to flights from Hong Kong and Macau. Taiwan air carriers, including China Airlines and EVA Air, have both been affected.

According to a report by AFP, the Italian government said it was the first government of a European Union country to suspend all flights from China, but it did not mention Taiwan.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/02/2020
By: Chung Jung-feng and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan are expected to come under heavy downward pressure Monday after a steep fall in U.S. markets at the end of last week amid rising concerns over the potential economic impact of a coronavirus that has been declared a global emergency.

Chinese stock markets will open for trading Monday after the Lunar New Year holiday and are expected to reflect the recent weakness of global markets caused by coronavirus fears, which could also hurt Taiwan's shares, analysts said Saturday.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dove 603 points, or about 2 percent, the fifth steepest point drop in 12 months, as Apple shares plunged more than 4 percent.

The broader S&P 500 index also closed down 1.8 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 1.6 percent.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date:  Feb 03, 2020
By: Chen Cheng-hui  /  Staff reporter

CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday said that they would lower gasoline and diesel prices this week by NT$0.9 per liter for gasoline and NT$1 per liter for diesel, after global crude oil prices fell last week amid concerns that a coronavirus outbreak that began in China would dent global growth and market demand.

Based on CPC’s weighted oil price formula — 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude — its average crude oil costs fell to US$58.45 per barrel last week, from US$63.32 a week earlier.

After factoring in the depreciation of the New Taiwan dollar, which last week was down by NT$0.276 against the US dollar, gasoline prices should be reduced by 5.47 percent this week, CPC said.

From today, prices at CPC gas stations are to be NT$25.9, NT$27.4 and NT$29.4 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$23.7 per liter, it said.    [FULL  STORY]

Manufacture of surgical masks to speed up as panic buying continues due to new coronavirus virus fears

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/02/01
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As the Wuhan coronavirus epidemic continues to escalate around the world, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has decided to speed up production of surgical and N95 masks to 10 million a day in five weeks.

Despite the announcement of a month-long export ban on surgical and N95 masks and the fact that local mask manufacturers can produce 4 million units a day, panic buying has still occurred in the country of 23 million people.

CNA reported the Executive Yuan has passed a special budget of NT$200 million (US$6.6 million) to help manufacturers build up capacity quickly. This is in anticipation of a drastic increase in demand for surgical and N95 respirator masks due to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

Minister of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Shen Jong-Chin (沈榮津) has visited manufacturers to hammer out plans to speed up production. This will include procuring new equipment.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/01/2020
By: Liu Pei-cheng and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 1 (CNA) The exposure to China of banks operating in Taiwan fell in the first 11 months of 2019 as China's economy showed signs of slowing, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

Data compiled by the FSC, the top financial regulator in Taiwan, showed the exposure of Taiwanese banks to China as of the end of November fell to NT$1.71 trillion (US$56.53 billion), down NT$62 billion from the end of 2018.

The decline consisted of a drop of NT$53.1 billion in bank loans, a decline of NT$5.1 billion in investments, and a fall of NT$7.1 billion in interbank loans, the data showed.

Chuang Shiu-yuan (莊琇媛), deputy director of the FSC's Banking Bureau, said China has been faced with downside risks, prompting the local banking sector here to tighten their lending policies.

The move signals Taiwan’s bid to draw foreign investors, which hold a combined 40 percent stake in local equity market

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/31
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Publicly listed and over-the-counter companies in Taiwan will be required to provide relevant company information from July onwards, said the country’s financial regulator.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE) and Taipei Exchange have amended rules requested by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) to accommodate the new measure. The policy will be implemented in four stages as Taiwan works to increase transparency for its securities industry and woo foreign investors.

Foreign investors held approximately 41.22 percent of local equities as of December 2019, according to the FSC. This makes disclosure of company information in English an essential issue for Taiwan as it further globalizes its stock market.

Starting July, it will be mandatory that listed and over-the-counter companies with a registered capital of NT$15 billion (US$496 million) or more make company information available in both Chinese and English. This will cover approximately 65 percent of all enterprises.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/31/2020
By: Yu Hsiao-han, Wu Hsin-yun and Frances Huang)

Taipei, Jan. 31 (CNA) Taiwan's government has decided to revoke Far Eastern Air Transport Corp.'s (FAT's) civil aviation flight permit after it made a surprise announcement in mid-December that it was canceling its flights.

The cancellation of the flight permit means FAT will not be allowed to resume operations despite its petition to do so, leaving the carrier's 900 employees without jobs.

In a statement, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said it took into account all of the facts and laws related to the case and approved a recommendation made by the Civil Aeronautics Administration in late December to revoke the flight permit.

FAT had been waiting for a review of its petition to resume flight operations after contending that the surprise announcement on Dec. 12 to stop all of its flights — starting the following day — resulted from a misunderstanding among management.    [FULL  STORY]