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Jobless rate falls, but rebound unlikely
By Amy Su
The unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in nearly five years, an indication that the labor market in Taiwan is stable, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The jobless rate last month dropped to 4.07 percent from 4.17 percentFULL STORY
TPK bullish on growth
By Lisa Wang
TPK Holding Co Ltd (宸鴻), the world’s biggest touch panel maker, expects revenue and net profit to continue growing this year, as demand for touch panels used in mobile devices remains strong, an executive said yesterday. That could mean another record year this year, after theFULL STORY
UMC plans Singapore Research & Development center
By Lisa Wang
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the nation’s second-largest contract chipmaker, said it has invested US$110 million to set up a research and development (R&D) center at its Singapore plant. The company said the new R&D center would focus on developing advanced specialty process technologies to makeFULL STORY
China Life enjoys healthy property market returns
By Crystal Hsu
China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽), the nation’s fifth-largest life insurer by market share, yesterday said the company was better equipped than its peers to make property investments this year as it is the only major insurer with a capital adequacy of more than 300 percent. ChinaFULL STORY
DBS Taiwan focusing efforts on SMEs
By Crystal Hsu
DBS Bank Taiwan (星展銀行) aims to increase its lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by 25 percent this year even as weaker-than-expected exports dampen loan demand, senior executives said yesterday. For the first three months of the year, the Singaporean bank led four other foreignFULL STORY
Private banks to outshine state-run peers: brokerage
By Kevin Chen
Private banks are expected to outperform their state-run peers this year, thanks to growth in pre-provision operating profit (PPOP) and demand for Chinese yuan-based businesses, JPMorgan Securities said yesterday. They could also reap significant benefits from deregulation in cross-strait business in the near future, the brokerageFULL STORY
Eslite Spectrum eyeing expansion
By Amy Su
Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活), a subsidiary of the Eslite Group (誠品集團) that operates department stores and restaurants, plans to add at least one store each in Hong Kong and China every year as it pursues steady growth momentum, a company official said yesterday. Eslite Spectrum —FULL STORY
Bosch forecasting double-digit growth for this year
By Camaron Kao
Engineering and electronics company Robert Bosch Taiwan Co yesterday said it is forecasting double-digit sales growth this year after its revenue fell 9.2 percent last year to NT$3.4 billion (US$113.5 million). The company also said its automotive division has the potential to grow its sales thisFULL STORY
Ministry to give boost to energy-efficient motors
By Helen Ku
The Ministry of Economic Affairs plans to subsidize buyers of household appliances and sellers of energy-efficient motors from next month through August as a means to boost consumption nationwide. Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) yesterday said the plan was part of short-term economic stimulusFULL STORY
Taiwan Business Quick Take
SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook eyes Taiwan firms Facebook Inc is planning to incorporate more Taiwanese suppliers into its Open Compute Project as part of its efforts to set up open standards for data centers through a collaborative dialogue. The Cloud Computing Association in Taiwan will hold an inaugurationFULL STORY
Apple chief urges US corporate tax cut
Apple Inc has called for US corporate tax rates to be reduced to “single digits” after it admitted sheltering at least US$30 billion of international profits in Irish subsidiaries that pay no tax at all. In a dramatic display of how threats from multinational corporations areFULL STORY
Japanese economy picking up, central bank says
Japan’s central bank says the world’s third-biggest economy is “picking up” as demand recovers in other countries and remains resilient at home, though the trade deficit widened last month, for the 10th straight month. The Bank of Japan ended a policy meeting yesterday with no changeFULL STORY
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