Sharetea to upgrade to TPEX trading
Sharetea started as a black tea stall on Taipei’s Nanyang Street in 1992 and established Lian Fa in 2004. Photo: CNAIts IPO prospectus showed that it operates 125 Sharetea outlets in the US, its largest market, and 44 shops in Hong Kong, the second-largest. In the first nine months of last year, Lian Fa posted NT$614 million in consolidated sales, up 31 percent from a year earlier. Lian Fa president Lai Po-yu (賴伯宇) said in the statement that Sharetea’s global expansion plan focuses on the US. Lian Fa has signed an agreement with a partner in Kuwait, where its outlet would be the only international hand-shaken beverage brand store, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 09, 2022 17:29 UTC
Revenue at T3EX surges as shipping rates remain high
Revenue at T3EX surges as shipping rates remain highBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterFreight forwarder T3EX Global Holdings Corp (台驊國際) on Friday reported revenue for last year of NT$3.45 billion (US$124.6 million), up 90 percent from a year earlier, and cumulative revenue of NT$36 billion for the year, up 137 percent from a year earlier, on the back of high shipping rates. Port congestion and labor shortages, as well as COVID-19 lockdowns in Southeast Asian countries, continued to push sea freight rates upward, contributing to revenue momentum, the forwarder said. There is still a discrepancy between supply and demand in the sea shipping market,” T3EX said in a statement. The forwarder expects air cargo rates to remain high this year, as the disruption in the sea freight market could prompt more clients to utilize air services, it said. Revenue from its sea freight forwarding operation advanced 137 percent year-on-year to NT$16.2 billion, accounting for 41.8 percent of all revenue, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 09, 2022 17:29 UTC
EDITORIAL: Booster shots should be boosted
EDITORIAL: Booster shots should be boostedThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Friday announced that people aged 18 or older who received their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine 12 weeks or more before are eligible for a booster dose to improve immune protection against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. The announcement came after many public health and healthcare specialists suggested that the government consider shortening the booster interval for high-risk groups. Calls for earlier booster shots grew as four confirmed cluster infections within quarantine hotels were reported in Taoyuan and Taipei, and the daily imported case numbers continued to rise. Several local government heads also urged the CECC to provide earlier booster doses to front-line workers with higher infection risks. An Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting was held on Thursday, and it recommended shortening the booster dose interval to 12 weeks.
Source:Taipei Times
January 09, 2022 04:11 UTC
Oil posts third weekly rise on outages
Oil posts third weekly rise on outagesBloombergOil rose for a third straight week as demand remained resilient, while supplies are frayed across the OPEC+ coalition and beyond. Kazakhstan’s biggest oil producer has altered output at the giant Tengiz field following protests, while Libyan production has also been crimped. “The oil market remains very tight and seems like it will go higher,” said Ed Moya, Oanda Corp’s senior market analyst for the Americas. TCO is a joint venture led by Chevron Corp that pumps about one-third of the nation’s oil. A deep freeze in Canada and the northern US has also disrupted oil flows this week.
Source:Taipei Times
January 09, 2022 00:57 UTC
Illegal pork may lead to deportation, ministry warns
Taiwan has been on alert as international deliveries have been found to contain meat products that tested positive for African swine fever, the ministry said. A pack of sausages sent from Thailand and intercepted by the Tainan Post Office is pictured in an undated photograph. The ministry also reminded employers to inform their foreign staff about African swine fever prevention laws and regulations. African swine fever is not known to infect humans, but can be fatal to pigs, and an outbreak might devastate the country’s high-value pig farming industry. Migrant workers who have questions about African swine fever should call the 1955 counseling and protection hotline, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 08, 2022 22:11 UTC
CECC reports four more domestic infections
CECC reports four more domestic infectionsStaff writer, with CNAThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 62 new COVID-19 cases, including four domestic infections linked to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport initially confirmed by the Taoyuan City Government on Thursday evening. The domestic COVID-19 cases are a 27-year-old security guard working at the airport’s Terminal 2, two members of the Golden Voice Social Club and the sister of a previously infected social club member. The other seven cases in the cluster are airport janitors, who were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 earlier this week, the center said. Janitors in protective suits sanitize Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) yesterday. A taxi outside Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) yesterday displays a sign to show that the vehicle had been fully sanitized.
Source:Taipei Times
January 08, 2022 04:03 UTC
HTC sales rise 20 percent on metaverse enthusiasm
HTC sales rise 20 percent on metaverse enthusiasmStaff writer, with CNATaiwan-based smartphone brand HTC Corp (宏達電), which has entered the virtual reality (VR) business, has benefited from enthusiasm over the metaverse concept to post a more than 20 percent month-on-month increase in sales. A woman uses HTC virtual reality equipment at Taipei Medical University on Nov. 30 last year. HTC Vive Asia-Pacific general manager Charles Huang (黃昭穎) said the Vive Flow is smaller and lighter than its predecessors, which should help the device generate more sales than its counterparts in the Vive headset series. The Vive Flow has an expansive 100-degree field of view, 3.2K resolution, and full 3D spatial audio that can connect to Bluetooth earphones, according to HTC product specifications. Products HTC is featuring include the first inside-out tracking device used by the Vive Focus 3, and healthcare content used by the Vive Flow.
Source:Taipei Times
January 08, 2022 03:55 UTC
Rising New Taiwan dollar comes with risks, rewards
Rising New Taiwan dollar comes with risks, rewardsCOLLISION COURSE: Strong exports prompted currency gains that could hurt trade in the long run, prompting the central bank to consider curbs on further gainsBloombergBuoyed by booming exports, the New Taiwan dollar is rallying in another attempt to crack a level that has held for almost 25 years. Taiwan’s policymakers could slow the currency’s gains as it approaches NT$27.501 per US dollar, a level it last reached in March 1997. The currency’s rise could put Taiwanese bulls on a collision course with the central bank, which frowns on excessive gains that could hurt exports. Still, others said that the central bank might tread lightly in the run-up to the release of the US Treasury Department’s foreign-exchange policy report. After the US raises borrowing costs, the Taiwan dollar is likely to return to the NT$28 level by the end of this year, said Cathay United Bank chief economist Eupho Lin.
Source:Taipei Times
January 07, 2022 22:08 UTC
CECC cuts booster interval to 12 weeks
CECC cuts booster interval to 12 weeksDIVERSIFY: Fully vaccinated people can choose any brand as a booster, but AstraZeneca recipients should choose a different brand for better COVID-19 protection, the center saidStaff writer, with CNAThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has shortened the interval between getting a second COVID-19 vaccine shot and a booster dose to 12 weeks effective immediately, it said yesterday. A medical worker prepares a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Hsinchu City yesterday. Only a half-dose of the Moderna vaccine would be administered as a booster, in keeping with the company’s recommendation, he added. Chen suggested that people who received two AstraZeneca jabs should choose a different brand as a booster for better protection. New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) also urged eligible residents to take boosters to prevent the spread of the virus.
Source:Taipei Times
January 07, 2022 22:04 UTC
Military showcases urban terrain training operation
Military showcases urban terrain training operationMILES FIGHTING: The soldiers, who were divided into ‘attackers’ and ‘defenders,’ wore laser detectors that registered ‘hits,’ with commanders watching the dataStaff writer, with CNATaiwan’s military showcased its urban terrain operational capabilities yesterday in exercises at a mock town inside an infantry training center in Kaohsiung. The exercise took place in a 6,599m2 compound inside the Army Infantry Training Command in Fengshan District (鳳山). The mock town — built to allow simulations of military operations in urban terrain — has 26 buildings. The mock town, which was built decades ago, is regularly upgraded to mimic up-to-date urban environments. Since November 2019, 36 infantry platoons have conducted urban terrain operations at the mock town, with each session lasting two weeks, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 07, 2022 04:08 UTC
COVID-19: Banks in HK resume work from home splits
UBS asked all business functions in Hong Kong to revert to two split teams to alternate office work week by week, while Bank of America Corp “encouraged” staff to work at home until Jan. 24. The Hong Kong Economic Journal reported on the message earlier. Standard Chartered PLC told staff to work in split teams in Hong Kong. Frustration has been mounting among businesses in Hong Kong over its stringent quarantine rules, which require arrivals to stay at government facilities and hotels for as long three weeks. Business groups in Hong Kong have said that it puts the territory’s status as a global financial hub at risk.
Source:Taipei Times
January 07, 2022 00:56 UTC
Book review: A stethoscope for a democracy close to cardiac arrest
The authors have used a stethoscope to examine the minutia of the American election process. The Steal by Mark Bowden and Matthew TeagueThe attempted coup was led by Donald Trump. The book reminds us that democracy itself depends on a modicum of trust. Bowden and Teague have performed a singular service by revealing the details that disprove Republicans’ unceasing inventions about voter fraud. The problem is that so many Republicans will continue to ignore the lessons of this book.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2022 22:01 UTC
China bullying Lithuania, MOFA says
China bullying Lithuania, MOFA saysSHARED VALUES: The ministry urged like-minded countries that cherish democracy and free trade to support Lithuania, so it would not succumb to pressure from BeijingBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday condemned China for bullying Lithuania and called for solidarity among democratic countries after Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda’s remarks about Taiwan’s mission in Vilnius triggered new tensions. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou speaks at a news conference at the ministry in Taipei in an undated photograph. The ministry strongly condemns China for using “despicable” means to exert political and economic pressure on Lithuania, she said, adding that the ministry is convinced that the solidarity of democratic countries would triumph over the bullying of an authoritarian regime. “I don’t think it was a mistake,” the legislative speaker told ELTA news agency, adding that the president is criticizing the decision only after China pressured Lithuania. The Bucharest group comprises countries on NATO’s eastern border — Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2022 21:59 UTC
Shopping on social media to hit US$1.2tn by 2025
Shopping on social media to hit US$1.2tn by 2025BloombergShopping on social networks such as Facebook, TikTok and WeChat would grow three times faster than sales from traditional channels over the next three years, a study released by Accenture found. Social commerce, defined as transactions that take place entirely within the context of a social media platform, are to reach US$1.2 trillion by 2025, up from US$492 billion last year, the consulting firm said in the report. Accenture also found that about 3.5 billion people used social media last year, spending on average two-and-a-half hours engaged with it per day. The market for social commerce is far less saturated in the US and the UK than in China, where 80 percent of users make purchases on social media, Accenture said. The study is based on an online study of 10,053 social media users in China, India, Brazil, the US and the UK conducted from Aug. 12 to Sept. 3.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2022 23:28 UTC
Plan to boost Taiwan-Europe links in works: MOFA
Plan to boost Taiwan-Europe links in works: MOFAStaff writer, with CNASeveral government agencies are discussing a plan to enhance ties with Europe in several fields and would unveil it soon, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday. Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) did not name any of the agencies other than the MOFA. The plan aims to further enhance already robust economic, education, scientific research and supply chain ties between Taiwan and Europe, he said. Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen, right, accompanies French Senator Alain Richard, chairman of the French Senate’s Taiwan Friendship Group to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Oct. 10 last year. No details of the plan were provided by Tsai, and Chen, who offered few other details of his own, would only say that more information would be provided by the agencies involved.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2022 23:28 UTC