Fed’s Williams says taper could happen this yearBloomberg“It could be appropriate” for the US central bank to begin tapering its bond-buying program before the end of the year, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said on Wednesday. “Assuming the economy continues to improve as I anticipate, it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year,” Williams said in remarks prepared for a virtual event. “I think it’s clear that we have made substantial further progress on achieving our inflation goal,” Williams said. “Probably some of that is the Delta variant having some effects, but it’s hard to really know,” Williams said after the speech. He added that judging “substantial further progress” was ultimately about assessing cumulative job creation since December last year, when that marker was laid out.

Taipower breaks ground for data hub in ChanghuaBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterState-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday broke ground for a cloud data center in Changhua County, as the firm is seeking to build a smart grid to handle rising electricity consumption amid increasing demand for energy from renewable sources. “Taiwan is undergoing an energy transition,” Taipower spokesman Chang Ting-shu (張廷舒), said. Officials and Taipower representatives attend the groundbreaking ceremony for a cloud data center in Changhua County yesterday. “We are planning to build smaller, more responsive gas plants that can be very responsive to demand,” Chang said. The center is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified “green building,” using 25 percent less energy than an average data center, Taipower said, adding that it would run on locally generated renewable energy.

End profit focus, China’s gaming firms instructedBloombergChinese regulators summoned gaming companies including Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) and Netease Inc (網易) to discuss further oversight of the industry and the need to de-emphasize profits, prompting a steep share selloff. The agencies told the companies they must enforce the new regulations and break from “the solitary focus of pursuing profit” to prevent minors from becoming addicted to games. They should also remove “obscene and violent content” and avoid “unhealthy tendencies, such as money-worship and effeminacy.”“The authorities ordered the enterprises and platforms to tighten examination of the contents of their games,” Xinhua said. However, Xinhua made no mention of suspending gaming approvals in its reports. China in 2018 froze approvals on game monetization licenses for months, in part to combat addiction and myopia among children.

Throughout yesterday and today, participants from Taiwan, Slovakia, the US and Japan are meeting to share their experiences as a reference for policy development, Chen said. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou speaks at a news briefing in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei TimesIt is the first time a GCTF meeting has focused on labor issues, and as such, includes participants from the Ministry of Labor and US Department of Labor, she said. The GCTF was established in 2015 between Taiwan and the US to create a platform for Taiwan to share its expertise on issues of global concern. The final itinerary to Slovakia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic is still being decided, which will be announced by MOFA next week, Up Media reported.

It has been four years since the government started asking publicly funded sports associations to submit financial statements, but few of them have made their financial situations transparent, NPP caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said. From left, New Power Party caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih, legislator Claire Wang and chairwoman and deputy caucus whip Chen Jiau-hua attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The financial reporting of some associations was substandard, as, for example, the tennis association’s statement does not explain some obscure items, Chiu said. NPP Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭) called for a comprehensive review of a compensation program for athletes on national teams. The firm was run by Tsai Yi-fan (蔡逸凡), a son of Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee vice chairman Tsai Szu-chuen (蔡賜爵).

China’s factory gate inflation jumped to a 13-year high last month. China’s coal prices soared to a record high on Tuesday over supply concerns as major coal regions began fresh rounds of safety checks. “We doubt producer price inflation will rise much further,” he said. Declines in airfares, travel and hotel room prices due to the pandemic slowed consumer inflation on a monthly basis, Dong said. China’s consumer price inflation, which is likely to stay muted, would not constrain a slight loosening stance, she added.

EU-Taipei ties rise as China faltersBy Huynh Tam Sang and Tran Hoang NhungWhile China is losing its luster in Europe, Taiwan’s importance is growing in the eyes of European countries. On Wednesday last week, the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs hailed Taiwan as a “key partner” in the Indo-Pacific region, and urged the EU to push for stronger ties with Taiwan amid China’s rise. As central and eastern European countries are less economically dependent on China, they might not be as impacted by China’s heavy sanctions. European countries are forging relations with Taiwan while re-evaluating their ties with China. Instead, Taiwan should focus on tightening diplomatic and economic relations with central and eastern European countries, and seek cooperation with like-minded partners.

Fidelity cuts Ant valuation amid PRC crackdownBloombergFidelity Investments has slashed its estimate of Ant Group Co’s (螞蟻集團) valuation for at least the second time this year, underscoring the deteriorating outlook for Jack Ma’s (馬雲) fintech giant as the Chinese government ramps up regulation of the industry. Another filing showed that Fidelity might have reduced its valuation even further in July, to about US$67 billion. BlackRock Inc assigned Ant a valuation of US$174 billion, its filing showed on Aug. 26. T Rowe Price Group Inc set it at US$189 billion, its filing showed on Aug. 25. Fidelity’s valuation for Ant in June was 48 percent lower than when it invested in the company in 2018.

Cannabis use booms on campusesBy Chen Hung-hui 陳宏煇On Aug. 27, the Executive Yuan announced that it would make cannabis the main target in the government’s fight against drugs and adopt three major strategies to tackle it. Cannabis users are by no means few in number. Many of them have high social status or returned to Taiwan after studying overseas, and most of them started smoking cannabis while at university. One day, after a student society event, he and his friends went to his rented apartment to smoke cannabis; the student later died. They are out of their parents’ control and it is not easy for the police to monitor them, so they can easily be influenced by their peers to fall into bad habits, such as smoking cannabis.

Australia threaten to cancel match with AfghanistanAFP, SYDNEYCricket Australia yesterday said that it would cancel a maiden Test match against Afghanistan unless the Taliban backtracks on a reported ban on women playing sport. “I don’t think women will be allowed to play cricket, because it is not necessary that women should play cricket,” Wasiq told Australian broadcaster SBS on Wednesday. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this.”Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan reacts during their Cricket World Cup match against Pakistan at Headingley in Leeds, England, on June 29, 2019. “If recent media reports that women’s cricket will not be supported in Afghanistan are substantiated, Cricket Australia would have no alternative but to not host Afghanistan for the proposed Test Match due to be played in Hobart.”The Australian Cricketers’ Association said it “unequivocally” supported Cricket Australia’s position. “What is happening now in Afghanistan is a human rights issue that transcends the game of cricket,” the association said.

Laptop makers post muted sales amid supply woesBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterContract laptop makers Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) last month reported noticeably muted sales, attributing the trend to unresolved component shortages and logistics woes. The company shipped 5.5 million notebook computers, down 6.8 percent month-on-month and 12.7 percent year-on-year, a new monthly low for this year. Meanwhile, Compal yesterday said that consolidated revenue fell 5.2 percent month-on-month to NT$102.39 billion last month, up 22 percent from August last year. Compal last month shipped 4.7 million laptops, down 4.08 percent month-on-month, but up 34.28 percent year-on-year. For the first eight months, the company shipped 28.42 percent more laptops, or 35.7 million units.

Sea aiming for US$6.3bn equity dealRAPID EXPANSION: The pandemic helped the gaming and onine shopping firm’s shares grow 70 percent, and now 11 million shares worth US$3.8 billion are on offerBloombergSea Ltd aims to raise US$6.3 billion in the largest equity offering of this year, which would propel Southeast Asia’s largest company’s global expansion. Including convertible bonds, the overall deal would be the biggest equity raise since the one by T-Mobile US Inc in June last year. The deal, offered via Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Bank of America, comes at a time of resurgence in cross-border issuance from Asia. Sea’s latest raising of capital follows a US$2.6 billion stock sale in December last year and a US$1.35 billion deal in 2019. Sea is now turning to fintech for further growth beyond gaming and e-commerce, while also expanding beyond the region.

FSC to ease online loan regulationsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisor Commission (FSC) is planning to relax regulations on Web-based consumer lending at banks, as the government seeks to create a comprehensive digital banking environment, the commission said yesterday. Current regulations allow online loan applications, but require banks to adopt stricter identity authentication standards for Web-based applications than for those who apply at a physical branch, the commission said. The requirements include identification via videoconference or the use of encrypted digital tokens, the commission said. Authentication would also include questions about regular account activity, including transfers or transactions, Lin said. The accounts have a limit on individual transfers of NT$10,000, while the daily transfer amount is capped at NT$30,000, the commission said.

US growth lower amid shortages of labor, supplyAFP, WASHINGTONUS economic growth “downshifted slightly” in July and last month amid shortages of workers and materials, as well as concerns about the rise of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. The US surge in COVID-19 infections has led to the return of some restrictions and delayed the return of workers to some offices. A sustained rise in inflation is a concern for the White House, which on Wednesday announced an initiative to slow rising meat prices. Linking consolidation in the meat industry to food price increases, the White House said it would invest US$1.4 billion aimed at small businesses in the food supply chain. The Fed report said that sales of vehicles and homes in the US were depressed by low inventory, but construction rose modestly.

The high polling numbers suggest that the majority supports the government’s cross-strait policy, MAC Deputy Minister Lee Li-jane (李麗珍) told an online news briefing. The poll showed that 83.9 percent of respondents support President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) stance that Taiwan’s only option is to build up its strength, solidarity and defensive capabilities. Furthermore, 64 percent support stricter examinations of Chinese citizens attempting to enter Taiwan, it said. More than 85 percent said that only the Taiwanese public can determine Taiwan’s future and the development of cross-strait relations, it showed. Any political negotiations, without a public mandate, would run counter to the majority opinion, Lee added.