Taiwan Economic News articles from February 2009

Taiwan Economic News archives from February 2009

Unemployment Population Hit Record High in Jan.
February 27, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 27, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan's unemployment situation deteriorated further in January, when the unemployment rate hit 5.31%, the highest for the month ever, and the unemployment population reached 578,000, a record high, said the...

Gov't Ready to Inject Fresh Funds Into Financial Institutions.
February 26, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 26, 2009 (CENS)--In emulation of foreign practice, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has drafted the "financial recovery program," according to which the government will inject fresh funds into financial institutions to...

Industry Tycoon Turns Neutral in Industry Outlook.
February 24, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 24, 2009 (CENS)--The global semiconductor industry has hit the bottom and will stage a gradual recovery in the shape of L, Morris Chang, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), said yesterday (Feb. 23). Chang...

Gov't to Sign CECA With China Under WTO Framework.
February 23, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 23, 2009 (CENS)--The government will step up effort to sign Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with China under the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will focus on petrochemical and machinery...

TSMC Holds Rosier Outlook for 2009.
February 20, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 20, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract IC manufacturer, has reached an internal consensus among its executives that the semiconductor industry has hit the bottom in the first...

Taiwan's GDP Forecast to Contract 2.97% in 2009.
February 19, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 19, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan's gross domestic product (GDP) plunged 8.36% in the fourth quarter of 2008 and is forecast to shrink 2.97% further this year, both unprecedented declines, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and...

Petrochemical Makers Calls for Free-Tariff Pact With China.
February 18, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 18, 2009 (CENS)--The government should step up efforts on signing a free tariff agreement for petrochemicals, plastics, and textiles with China, so that they can survive the impact of the "ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian...

NT Dollar Appears to Be Undervalued.
February 17, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 17, 2008 (CENS)--With the continuous devaluation of the New Taiwan dollar since the turn of the year, the local currency appears to be undervalued, as the real effective exchange rate of the currency compiled by the Central Bank...

Taiwanese Banking Delegation to Promote Cross-Strait Financial Link.
February 16, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 16, 2009 (CENS)--A delegation of leading Taiwanese bankers arrived in Beijing yesterday (Feb. 15) for a trip designed to tap the Chinese market for Taiwanese financial institutions. Shea Jia-dong, head of the delegation and...

Draft Statute Calls for Freezing All Lehman Brothers' Properties in Taiwan.
February 13, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 13, 2009 (CENS)--The Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has drafted the "Special Statute for Protecting Financial-Product Investors of Lehman Brothers Group," in order to restrict the transfer of the group's...

Ratings on Morgan Stanley Taiwan Cut on Weakened Implicit Parent Support.
February 13, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 13, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan Ratings Corp. (TRC) recently lowered its long-term counterparty credit rating on Morgan Stanley Taiwan Ltd. (MSTL) from 'twAAA' to 'twAA' and affirmed the 'twA-1+' short-term counterparty rating. The...

Gov't to Help Industries Acquire Key Technologies Amid Economic Downturn.
February 12, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 12, 2009 (CENS)--The National Development Fund, under the Executive Yuan (the Cabinet), will spend up to NT$200 billion in helping domestic industries acquire key foreign technologies during the global economic downturn, said...

FPG Proposes to Carry Out Merger of Taiwanese DRAM Makers.
February 11, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 11, 2009 (CENS)--Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), Taiwan's leading conglomerate, and Micron of the U.S. have jointly proposed merging Taiwan's five major DRAM (dynamic random access memory) makers into a consolidated company, which...

Taiwan's Export Saw Record Decline of 44% in Jan.
February 10, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 10, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan's export took another drubbing in January posted a record annual plunge of 44.1% reach to US$12.37 billion, yet the performance was better than expected after taking into account the factor of Chinese...

Production Lines of LCD Panel Makers Strained by Influx of Rush Orders.
February 9, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 9, 2009 (CENS)--Leading LCD (liquid crystal display) panel makers AU Optronics and Chi Mei Optoelectronics have recalled large numbers of workers from unpaid leave to production lines, in order to meet the rush orders from the...

Some Banks Raise Mortgage Rates to Cover Rising Default Risk.
February 6, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 6, 2009 (CENS)--Along with rising unemployment and declining housing prices, housing-loan default rate is picking up, a phenomenon which has prompted a number of domestic banks to raise their housing-loan rates. Those banks are...

Taiwan's Economy Will Shrink 11%: CLAS.
February 5, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 5, 2009 (CENS)--CLAS Asia-Pacific Markets predicted yesterday (Feb. 4) that Taiwan's economy will decline 11% this year, the worst performance among major Asian economies, citing "export crash" to back the pessimistic outlook....

Enterprises Allowed to Alter Prices or Conditions of Mature Convertible Bonds.
February 4, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 4, 2009 (CENS)--Domestic enterprises will be able to alter the conversion prices or issuance conditions for their convertible bonds upon their maturity this year, so long as their creditors agree with them to do so, said the...

Shopping Coupons Fuel Private Consumption During Holiday.
February 3, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 3, 2009 (CENS)--Fueled by the issuance of consumption coupons, plus the effects of good weather and long holidays, tourist spots, department stores, and restaurants scored remarkable business performances during the Chinese Lunar...

Cabinet Decides to Create 150,000 Job Vacancies This Year.
February 2, 2009... Taipei, Feb. 2, 2009 (CENS)--Premium Liu Chao-shiuan decided yesterday (Fe. 1) to further step up public outlays this year, with the aim of creating 150,000 job vacancies and curbing the unemployment rate under 4.5%. The decision was made...