Leading indicators slow for 10th straight monthBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe nation’s economy continued to show signs of a slowdown, with the index of leading indicators for last month falling 0.94 percent to 96.38 points from July, marking the 10th consecutive month of decline, the National Development Council said yesterday. Photo: Lam Yik Fei, BloombergLast month’s index of coincident indicators, which tracks the current pace of economic activity, decreased by 1.43 percent to 96.89, falling for a seventh consecutive month, the report showed. All seven components of the index fell from the previous month, the council said. The total score of monitoring indicators for last month was 23 points, down from 24 points in July, flashing a “green light” for a sixth consecutive month, implying steady growth, the report showed. The government will be closely monitoring the economic situation, the council said in the report.

Qualcomm sets up second Taiwan innovation centerHEADING SOUTH: The US company chose Kaohsiung as its site as more customers, partners and start-ups have expanded their operations to the southern city Qualcomm Inc yesterday inaugurated a new innovation center in Kaohsiung as it steps up efforts to foster local start-ups and a 5G technology ecosystem in the city, following in the footsteps of its local partners. The US chip company’s move fits the Kaohsiung City Government’s plan to build a semiconductor supply chain within the next five years, highlighted by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) first chip plant in the city. TSMC plans to start building the factory by the end of this year, and to start production of 28-nanometer and 7-nanometer chips there in 2024. Qualcomm said it had beenBy Lisa Wang

Apple Inc begins making iPhone 14 in India weeks ahead of scheduleBloombergApple Inc began making its new iPhone 14 in India sooner than anticipated, after a surprisingly smooth production rollout that slashed the lag between Chinese and Indian output from months to mere weeks. Apple Inc iPhones are displayed at the company’s Fifth Avenue store in New York on Sept. 16. “To turn India into a major manufacturing site, Apple will help India accelerate its production timeline,” he said. “We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a statement yesterday without discussing a production timeline. Apple’s partners began making iPhones in India in 2017, the start of a years-long effort to build manufacturing capabilities in the country.

Fuel prices stay unchangedBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices are to remain unchanged this week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday, even though international crude oil prices moved lower. Gasoline prices at CPC stations are to stay at NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the state-run refiner said in a statement. The United Arab Emirates’ planned increase in oil production and the US Federal Reserve’s 75 basis-point rate increase led to decreases in international crude oil prices last week, CPC said. Based on its floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil last week decreased 0.9 percent from a week earlier, it said. Formosa Petrochemical’s prices for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline are to stay at NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter respectively, while the price of premium diesel is to remain at NT$26.7 per liter, the company said.

Ian Easton On Taiwan: Revisiting America’s security strategy for TaiwanThe United States may soon find it somewhere between difficult and near impossible to maintain a sufficiently favorable balance of power against the People’s Republic of China in the Western Pacific. Taiwan ranks among the top ten democratic countries in the world and deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. Since 1979, the most tangible manifestation of Taiwan’s international political legitimacy has been American arms sales. Multiple administrations (including that of President Joe Biden) have bought into the false narrative that frequent, high-quality arms sales are too provocative to Beijing. It would be unwise for the US-Taiwan military and security relationship to continue being so heavily dependent upon arms sales alone.

Health start-up uses electrodes to treat depressionBy Sarah McBride / BloombergThis summer, doctors in St Louis, Missouri, shaved away a small part of a person’s skull and replaced it with electrodes. Inner Cosmos, the start-up behind the surgery, is one of a growing cadre of tech companies working on implanted devices for the brain. The trial, the first of its kind using implants in the bone of the skull to treat depression, represents a step forward for scientists’ efforts to treat mood disorders with hardware. New York-based Synchron, which has raised more than US$60 million, avoids brain surgery by sending electrodes to the brain through blood vessels, in a stent. The area Inner Cosmos targets is similar to that of another technique, known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, which does not require surgery, but takes longer to implement than the Inner Cosmos device.

Photo: AFPThese moves have attracted the kind of criticism Saudi Arabian officials have come to expect, with some e-sports leaders objecting to Riyadh’s human rights record. Saudi Arabian gamers are reveling in their country’s newfound status and the eye-watering prize pools it brings. The national e-sports federation was created in 2017, and the number of e-sports teams in the kingdom has since blossomed from two to more than 100. The outcry was immediate and intense, led by LGBTQ gamers who condemned Saudi Arabia’s prohibition of same-sex sexual acts, which can be a capital offense. Saudi Arabian officials are undeterred, and they have deep backing in the e-sports world.

Chinese devices ban not enforced: groupEYE ON DIGIFOCUS: Researchers said that a Taipei-based distributor of cameras and other devices has ‘Taiwanese skin,’ but is Chinese company Hikvision ‘on the inside’By Jason Pan / Staff reporterPeople’s movements in public have been exposed and national security has been breached because ministries have failed to enforce a ban of Chinese-made electronic displays and video recording devices, the Economic Democracy Union said yesterday. However, Economic Democracy Union members have uncovered examples where the rules are not being followed, he said, adding that ministries have been negligent in enforcing the ban. Hikvision circumvented the restrictions by using its distribution company in Taiwan, Taipei-based DigiFocus Co, Economic Democracy Union researcher Ou Hsu-shao (歐栩韶) said. “DigiFocus secured a government contract of the economic ministry’s Industrial Development Bureau to supply video cameras and other devices,” Ou said. “When surveillance cameras and monitoring devices made by Chinese companies are installed in Taiwan, everyone might be under the eye of the Chinese government,” she said.

GSK transforms to improve pharmaceutical operationsStaff writerGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in July made its consumer health products division a separate entity as it transforms into a world-leading biopharmaceutical company. Mick Stanley, VP and General Manager of GSK Taiwan, says,"after transforming the organization our new ambitions and new purpose is to expand our impact here in Taiwan." For example, GSK Taiwan has recently launched a new vaccine against the herpes zoster virus to protect against shingles. In addition to vaccines, GSK also leads the industry in the treatment and prevention of diseases such as respiratory illnesses. For people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory diseases who need drugs for treatment, GSK helps them with a variety of inhaled medicines.

Bank of Japan persists with ultra-low interest ratesSTRONG WARNING: A finance official suggested a possible stealth intervention to prop up the yen, as its descent nears 1998 levels, when authorities last boosted the currencyBloombergThe Bank of Japan (BOJ) continued to stand by its ultra-low interest rates as it further isolated itself from a global wave of policy tightening, fueling a slide in the yen to a fresh 24-year low and ramped-up warnings of possible intervention. The national flag flies on the roof of the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo yesterday. The governor has repeatedly signaled that there is a long way to go before policy in Japan can be normalized. That means the BOJ is sticking with its short-term interest rate of minus-0.1 percent and its cap on long-term bond yields. In the past week, the central bank has spent about ￥2.9 trillion (US$20.3 billion) on fixed-rate purchases of bonds to defend the 0.25 percent cap.

Taiwanese in New York march for UN inclusionASSEMBLY: The group started the march in front of the Chinese consulate to express their opposition to Beijing’s aggressive moves against Taiwan, the organizer said A group of about 250 Taiwanese on Saturday marched along the streets of New York City calling for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN, which met for its general assembly on Tuesday last week. The Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York, Taiwanese American Association of New York and Keep Taiwan Free, a grassroots movement, organized this year’s “Keep Taiwan Free March & Rally,” which was suspended for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the march, a plane pulling a banner that read “Taiwan in UN now” flew above the Hudson River. Participants gathered outside the Consulate General of theBy Liu Tzu-hsuan

ADB cuts developing Asia growth forecast to 4.3%GLOBAL HEADWINDS: China’s recurrent lockdowns and stronger-than-expected monetary tightening in advanced economies pose large risks to the region, the bank saidAFP, MANILAThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday cut its growth forecast for developing Asia for this year, with crippling COVID-19 lockdowns in China, conflict in Ukraine and efforts to combat inflation dragging on the region. As a result, the ADB slashed its growth forecast for developing Asia — which refers to the bank’s 46 members, stretching from the Cook Islands in the Pacific to Kazakhstan in central Asia — to 4.3 percent this year. China’s growth forecast for this year was reduced to 3.3 percent from 5 percent, as Beijing pursues a “zero COVID-19” strategy that has devastated the world’s second-largest economy. Excluding China, developing Asia would grow 5.3 percent. “For the first time in more than three decades, the rest of developing Asia will grow faster than’ China,” the ADB said.

Kao’s remarks were widely seen as belittling Hsinchu-based Chung Hua University as an inferior school to NTU — one of Taiwan’s top schools, from which she holds a master’s degree. From left, Democratic Progressive Party legislators Michelle Lin, Huang Shih-chieh and Wu Yu-chin attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday. After her remarks were widely seen as elitist, she yesterday apologized to Chung Hua University. “Voters in Hsinchu are to choose a mayor who will speak up for them,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Huang Tsai-ling (黃彩玲) said. “In past decades, many teenagers could not take university entrance exams, not because they were not smart, but because of their family background, she added.

From right, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Lee De-wei, Lai Shyh-bao, Tseng Ming-chung, Alex Fei and Hung Meng-kai attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The two cable operators’ applications to move TVBS News surprised industry observers, given the station’s popularity. “The NCC should protect consumers amid disputes between channels and cable system operators per laws and customary practices,” Tseng said. “This is a business dispute and we should leave it to the NCC to decide whether cable operators have reasonable justifications for their plans,” Huang said. Article 55 of the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法) authorizes the commission to arbitrate disputes over broadcasting terms or between cable system operators.

Ministry eyes US biotech cooperationStaff writer, with CNAA visit to the US by a Taiwanese delegation has opened the door to dialogue on cooperation between biotechnology companies, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi speaks at an investment conference in New York last week. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Department of Investment ServicesUnder that model, pharmaceutical companies partner with others in the industry that are categorized as CDMOs to outsource drug development and manufacturing. Potential cooperation between Taiwanese and US pharmaceutical companies could include the development and production of medical consumables and minimally invasive surgical instruments. However, the ministry did not say when the discussions were expected to start or which US companies would be involved.