Affiliate Viveland also distributes VR games in Asia
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/02
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
HTC’s Viveland will distribute the VR game Sanctum in Asia (photo courtesy of HTC). (CNA photo)
As the conservative Muslim country is liberalizing, interest in computer games and new entertainment technologies has been soaring, leading to HTC joining a local partner to open a store where visitors can enjoy the wonders of VR, CNA reported. [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 2020/01/02
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Matthew Mazzetta
CNA file photo
In a statement, the ministry said there was 37 percent spike in furloughed workers to 3,074 from the 2,249 reported two weeks earlier, due largely to one company that sent more than 700 employees on unpaid leave.
MOL statistics showed that in the last half of December, 53 companies had workers on furlough, compared with 44 in the first two weeks of the month, with most of the firms being in the metal/electromechanical industry.
According to the ministry, production dropped at some companies due to an economic slowdown, and some employees agreed to short-term furloughs after consultations with their employers.
[FULL STORY]
OUTLOOK UPBEAT: Companies have turned optimistic about their business prospects for the first time since July last year, the Taipei-based think tank said
Taipei Times
Date: Jan 03, 2020
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month climbed to 56.2, the fastest expansion in 19 months, as local companies benefited from 5G deployment and inventory demand for electronics ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.
Companies turned upbeat about their prospects for the first time since July last year, with the possibility of a US-China phase one deal on Jan. 15 contributing to the optimism, the Taipei-based think tank said.
The PMI value — the result of a monthly survey intended to gauge the health of the nation’s manufacturing sectors — indicated an upturn in operating conditions for a third consecutive month.
Scores higher than 50 indicate an expansion, while those below the threshold suggest a contraction.
[FULL STORY]
Taiwan should do more to join CPTPP and RCEP: business organizations
Taiwan News
Date: .2020/01/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The economy will continue on the positive course launched last year by the return of investors evading United States tariffs against China, but the government will have to do more to join international trade blocs in order to avert marginalization, business leaders said Wednesday (Jan. 1).
U.S. President Donald Trump’s measures targeting Chinese imports and the Taiwanese government’s policies attracted more Taiwanese businesses to leave China or at least make new investment plans for the island in order to avoid the tariffs over the past year.
Looking at 2020, business leaders expected the trend to continue and fuel Taiwan’s economic growth. They also called for help for small and medium enterprises to upgrade and progress as the age of 5G and AI was approaching rapidly, CNA reported.
However, Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce, Taiwan (CNAIC) Chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) noted that as a major exporter, Taiwan should also be actively seeking to join new trade partnerships, such as the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership) and the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), or it could face being marginalized.
[FULL STORY]
Focus TGaiwan
Date: 2020/01/01
By: Pan Chih-yi and Frances Huang
Taipei, Jan. 1 (CNA) Equity investors on the local main board posted more than NT$670,000 (US$22,259) each in gains on average in 2019, when the benchmark weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), or Taiex, rose by more than 23 percent over the course of the year, according to data released by the TWSE.
The Taiex rose 2,269.73 points, or 23.33 percent, in 2019 to close at 11,977.14 Friday, the last trading session of the year.
Due to the strong upturn in the index, market capitalization on the main board rose by about NT$7.095 trillion from a year earlier to NT$36.41 trillion at the end of 2019.
Based on the roughly 10.53 million investors registered on the exchange as of the end of November, the increase in market cap in the year showed that each investor posted an average NT$673,400 in gains in the year, according to the data. [FULL STORY]
‘NEW MEMBERS’: Government subsidies could encourage 5 million people to switch from fossil fuel-powered to electric scooters, helping reduce emissions, Gogoro said
Taipei Times
Date: Jan 02, 2020
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter
Electric scooter maker Gogoro Inc (睿能創意) yesterday said that sales last month hit a record high of 22,750 units, helping it remain the nation’s No. 2 vendor with a 21.27 percent market share.
The Taoyuan-based company’s aggregated sales last year reached 145,6738 units — an all-time high, it said in a statement.
Since 2015, Gogoro has sold 274,623 electric scooters, including those it assembled for Yamaha Motor Co of Japan, Aeon Motor Co (宏佳騰), Motive Power Industry Co (摩特動力) and Suzuki Motor Corp.
In Taiwan last year, electric scooters made up 18.63 percent of total scooter sales, compared with 9.5 percent a year earlier, the company said. [FULL STORY]
2 government-backed startups accumulate foreign investment
Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/30
By: Chris Chang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Minister of the National Development Council, Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶), announced on Thursday (Dec. 26) at a press conference for its Business Angel Investment Program that Taiwan has successfully incubated two unicorns: Gogoro and Appier.
The impressive performance of these two Taiwanese startups signals their potential. A "unicorn" is defined as a startup company founded after 2003 that has a current valuation of more than US$1 billion.
In 2019, Gogoro enjoyed the highest share of the electric scooter market, with its vehicles occupying every slot on the top 8 best-selling list compiled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The company has also installed more than 1,200 charging stations across the country and released GoShare, an electric scooter ride-sharing service that covers Taipei and Taoyuan.
Appier, which specializes in using artificial intelligence technology to facilitate marketing decisions, was selected by Fortune as one of its top 50 AI startups in 2017. Since then, the company has acquired QGraph and Emotion Intelligence, formerly Indian and Japanese companies, respectively, and received US$80 million (NT$2.4 billion) its latest round of Series D funding.
[FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/31.
By: Tsai Peng-min and Evelyn Kao
Taipei, Dec. 31 (CNA) The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Tuesday announced the 2020 feed-in tariff (FIT) rates for renewable energy generation, with the rate for onshore wind power facilities with a capacity of 1 to 30 kW to be raised above the previously proposed level.
The ministry will raise the FIT level for electricity from onshore wind power for next year from the previously proposed NT$7.7916 (US$0.26) per kilowatt-hour (kWh), to NT$7.7998 kWh after taking into account increasing operating and maintenance costs.
Feed-in tariffs (FIT) are fixed electricity prices paid to renewable energy (RE) producers for each unit of energy produced and provided to the electricity grid.
Meanwhile, FIT rates for renewable energy sources such as biomass, hydro power and biodegradable waste will be raised by 1-4 percent next year, while that for geothermal power generation will be maintained at this year's level. [FULL STORY]
UNCONVINCED? Despite opposition by developers, citing high development costs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs lowered offshore wind energy rates by 7.64 percent
Taipei Times
Date: Jan 01, 2020
By: Natasha Li / Staff reporter
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced the government’s finalized feed-in tariff (FIT) rates for renewable energy this year, which included a minor change to the original proposed rates for onshore wind energy generation.
Following three public hearings in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung last month, the ministry said that it has decided to increase FIT rates for energy generated by onshore wind power with a capacity of less than 30 kilowatts (kW) from NT$7.7916 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to NT$7.7998, primarily citing high maintenance costs.
Meanwhile, FIT rates for offshore wind energy are to be retained from the original proposal at NT$5.0946 per kWh, declining 7.64 percent from NT$5.516 per kWh last year, the ministry said.
The finalized rates might come at a cost to offshore wind energy developers, many of which have voiced opposition to adjusting the FIT rates. [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/30
By: Jeffrey Wu and Evelyn Kao
CNA file photo
Yahoo Finance picked this year's top 10 stocks based on view counts of Taiwanese stocks on its app between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15 this year.
Hon Hai founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) decided to hand over the running of his company to an operations committee earlier this year, shaking the market. Meanwhile, strong sales of the new iPhone 11 series and reports that companies in Apple's supply chain are gearing up for mass production of popular AirPods wireless earphones have also spurred a surge in Hon Hai shares, making it the most popular Taiwanese stock. [FULL STORY]
