Largan sales rise, but experts wary
Consolidated revenue was NT$4.11 billion (US$136.31 million) last month, Largan said. Lenses with a resolution of 8 megapixels contributed between 10 and 20 percent of Largan’s shipments last month. Largan is to launch a new plant in the Taichung Industrial Park (台中工業區) this year, with construction expected to be completed by the end of 2023. Huang predicted a 40 percent sequential decline in Largan’s revenue this quarter if the virus continues to spread through next month. “Nonetheless, Huawei Technologies Co (華為) has already resumed its production and increased its orders to Largan,” he said, dismissing concerns over declining smartphone sales in China.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Demand to depart Welsh market was racist: shopkeeper
The GuardianA market trader in Wales has accused fellow shopkeepers of bigotry after she was told to leave her stall because of fears she might have a coronavirus first reported in China. “When I arrived at the hall and got to my own stall, the man who works opposite mine immediately asked me to leave the building,” Lu said. “He stressed that every member of the hall all think I must leave the building, otherwise he will contact the council to force me out,” she said. “There are so many cases of the virus in the rest of this world, so why did this trader target me? “I think they assume I have gone to China, but I didn’t go, and they still didn’t believe me.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Huawei vows production hubs in EU
AFP, BRUSSELSChinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為) on Tuesday said that it would set up manufacturing hubs in Europe, as it tries to fight off US pressure on EU nations to stop it from operating. “Huawei is more committed to Europe than ever before,” the company’s top executive for Europe, Abraham Liu (劉康), said during a Lunar New Year reception in Brussels. However, the EU plan, which closely mirrored rules set out by Britain allowing a limited role for Huawei, stopped short of barring the firm from the next-generation communications network designed for near-instantaneous data transfers. Building factories in Europe would also help persuade EU nations to turn away from tough measures against Huawei, with all eyes on Germany, which has delayed its decision on a possible ban. Huawei said it employs more than 13,000 staff, and runs two regional centers and 23 research centers in 12 EU nations.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Lawmaker calls for disease prevention leave subsidies
The government should not leave workers at the mercy of its policies and should offer partial wage compensation, New Power Party Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said. Precedents set during the SARS outbreak should be observed, he said, adding that the government, after asking the private sector to calculate wages for paid leave, subsidized that amount during the 2003 outbreak. The federation said that educators should be eligible for paid disease prevention leave. Working parents taking such leave would be for “the greater public good” and neither employers nor employees should have to take responsibility for approving or taking the leave, federation president Chang Hsu-cheng (張旭政) said. As the Ministry of Labor stated that the disease prevention leave is an emergency measure applicable to all parents of children 12 or younger, teachers should not be exempt, Chang said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Chunghwa Post to distribute masks
By Cheng Wei-chi and Lee I-chia / Staff reportersAbout 3,000 Chunghwa Post workers would deliver surgical masks that are to be sold at more than 6,000 locations nationwide starting today, the company said yesterday. The firm’s workers yesterday began picking up masks from 24 factories in 10 cities and counties and packaged them at various post offices for delivery. Chunghwa Post has about 7,000 delivery workers on duty each day, Department of Mail Business and Operations head Chen Ching-hsiang (陳敬祥) said. Each location is to receive 200 masks for adults and 50 masks for children per day, he said. While the company is delivering masks to pharmacies and health centers to be sold to the public, it is not responsible for deliveries of masks to medical institutions, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Han’s administration plans reshuffle to fend off recall
By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterKaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) administration plans to reshuffle its ranks to fend off a campaign to recall him, the Chinese-language Mirror Media magazine reported on Tuesday. Anne Wang (王淺秋) and Peter Pan (潘恒旭), who previously headed the Information Bureau and the Tourism Bureau respectively, would not return to the team, the report said, adding that the administration hopes to reshape its image. Meanwhile, Han intends to maintain a low profile during the recall campaign by focusing on governance and avoiding speaking about politics, the report said. Han’s team intends to carefully manage his public comments to prevent perpetuating his image as a caobao (草包, “country bumpkin”), the magazine cited an aide to the city government as saying. Recently, Han’s presence in the media has been related to prevention of the 2019 novel coronavirus, the report said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
China deaths hit 490 as virus spreads
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) said that all people entering the territory from mainland China, including Hong Kong residents, would be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine. Lam said the measure are to take effect on Saturday to allow Hong Kong day travelers to make the necessary arrangements. She also said two cruise terminals — including one where a cruise ship is under quarantine — will be shut down. Outside China, at least 180 cases had been confirmed, including two fatalities, one in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines. To treat the thousands of patients, China rushed to build hospitals and converted a gymnasium, exhibition hall and cultural center in Wuhan.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Trump uses address to campaign, Pelosi rips up his speech
Republicans chanted: “Four More Years.”US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of Trump’s speech as he ended his address. “America’s enemies are on the run, America’s fortunes are on the rise and America’s future is blazing bright,” Trump said. However, while he tweets daily assailing his impeachment, Trump never mentioned the “i” word in his 78-minute speech. The US president offered Guaido exactly the sort of endorsement he has been looking for as he struggles to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. Trump called Guaido “the true and legitimate president of Venezuela.”“Socialism destroys nations,” Trump said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Indonesian GDP growth last year dipped to 5.02%
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy expanded 5.02 percent, down from the 5.17 percent it posted in the previous year, owing to weakness in exports and softer manufacturing output. “Sustaining growth in a 5.0 percent range in the current environment isn’t easy,” Indonesian Central Statistics Agency head Suhariyanto, who goes by one name, told reporters in Jakarta. Tourism officials have warned of a drop-off this year, as Indonesia throws up barriers to Chinese visitors over fears of a coronavirus outbreak in that country. “The number of Chinese visitors has dropped significantly since the imposition of travel restrictions,” Ngurah Wijaya, an adviser to Bali Tourism Board and Bali Promotion Board, earlier told Bloomberg News. “We expect the economy to be weak in Q1 as exports take a hit due to the coronavirus outbreak and tourism slows,” it said yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Realtek sees Wi-Fi chip demand supporting sales
However, as many of its Chinese customers would not resume operation until Monday next week because of the outbreak, it is not clear how it might affect the company, Realtek said. “We saw stable customer demand before the Lunar New Year holiday... We are cautiously optimistic about the first-quarter outlook,” Realtek spokesman Huang Yee-wei (黃依瑋) told investors during a teleconference. Revenue last year jumped 32.6 percent to NT$60.74 billion (US$2.01 billion) from NT$45.81 billion in 2018, after fourth-quarter sales rose 39.7 percent annually, company data showed. The new single chips used in these earbuds cost more than US$2 each, about 33 percent higher than non-single chips. Realtek expects worldwide TWS earbud shipments to reach 200 million units this year, with half of them coming from Apple.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Machvision hopeful despite slump
Machvision provides services to printed circuit board (PCB) and integrated circuit manufacturers. The company also suffered delays in the development of new equipment inspection technologies, Chen said. Machvision chairman Collin Wang (汪光夏) remained sanguine about business prospects, hoping to achieve a solid performance as it did in 2018. “The 5G era is ushering in many opportunities for us,” he said, citing increases in 5G-related products such as substrate-like PCBs and flexible printed circuit board. He also noted a shift in industry demand for wafer inspection from spot-checking to full-on inspections.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Macy’s to close 125 stores, shed 2,000 corporate jobs
AP, NEW YORKMacy’s Inc on Tuesday said it is closing 125 of its least productive stores and cutting 2,000 corporate jobs, as the struggling department store tries to reinvent itself in the age of online shopping. Macy’s did not specify how many jobs would be lost at the shuttered stores. The corporate jobs would be shed as Macy’s closes its offices in Cincinnati and San Francisco, leaving New York as its sole corporate headquarters. Macy’s said that the 2,000 jobs to be lost account for about 9 percent of its corporate workforce. It has also been closing stores over the past few years and has reduced layers of management as it tries to be more agile.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Australia keeps interest rates on hold
AFP, SYDNEYAustralia’s central bank yesterday kept interest rates on hold at a record low, despite expected economic pain from the country’s devastating bushfire crisis and a coronavirus outbreak in China. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kept the cost of borrowing unchanged since lowering rates to 0.75 percent in October last year as part of efforts to extend a record 29-year run without a recession. However, many analysts believe rates could be cut further in the coming months. The People’s Bank of China on Monday trimmed some interest rates and injected massive liquidity into the financial system to shore up slumping markets. By contrast, a reduction is expected tomorrow in the Philippines, which has reported the first death from coronavirus outside China.
Source:Taipei Times
February 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
EDITORIAL: Do not stigmatize Wuhan returnees
After initially ignoring Taiwan’s requests to evacuate its nationals from Wuhan, the epicenter of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, Beijing finally relented and 247 Taiwanese returned home on Monday. If they show any signs of infection, they would be taken to a hospital immediately. He said he did not verify the report, not knowing that failure to do so was against the law. Such panic is understandable, as there have been reports of irresponsible Taiwanese returnees from Wuhan breaching their mandatory self-quarantine and appearing in public — and posting about their activities on Facebook. Internal bickering over just about anything is a time-honored Taiwanese tradition, but this is a serious humanitarian crisis with conditions unfavorable to Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
February 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: KMT urges new law and fund for prevention
By Lin Liang-sheng and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday urged the government to draft a special law on disease prevention and set up a NT$50 billion (US$1.66 billion) fund dedicated to disease prevention efforts. While the KMT agrees the latest measure could prevent hoarding, a special fund would help diminish public losses due to class suspensions and parental leave, KMT caucus convener Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said. KMT Legislator Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) questioned the decision to mobilize the military to boost mask production and called for a probe into potential ulterior motives to benefit manufacturers. The KMT caucus on Monday called on China to support Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and the World Health Assembly. DPP Legislator Lin Yi-chin (林宜瑾) agreed, saying that penalties should be increased.
Source:Taipei Times
February 04, 2020 15:56 UTC