Economy

Taiwanese contract chipmaker TSMC is growing more dependent on Chinese customers as demand from others, such as Apple, wanes.
Business trends

Chinese chipmakers lure Taiwanese engineers with fat pay packets

China's cash-rich companies can offer '2 to 3 times' the salary of their rivals

19 February 2019
The government in Taipei lowered its GDP forecast for 2019, but expects Taiwan's exports to rebound later in the year.
Economy

Taiwan cuts growth outlook to 2.27% as IT export loses shine

Smartphone slowdown on mainland and trade war expected to slow investment

14 February 2019
A China Airlines plane at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan.
Companies

China Airlines pilots strike in midst of New Year travel rush

Over 4,000 travelers to be impacted at three major Taiwan airports

9 February 2019
Slowing global demand, in part stemming from a slump in smartphone sales, weighed on Asia, as many economies are reliant on Chinese production.
Nikkei PMI

Asia’s manufacturing PMIs show clear sign of slowing global economy

Factory output contracts in most markets, clouding regional growth prospect

8 February 2019
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4 February 2019
Employees work at a production line inside the Chery Jaguar Land Rover plant in Changshu, Jiangsu Province. The Indian-owned carmaker saw sales plunge in China.
Business trends

Asian companies see profit evaporating as China demand shrinks

From smartphones to autos, suppliers suffered double-digit declines last quarter

4 February 2019
Foxconn's headquarters in Taiwan. The company's decision to delay work on factory-building projects in the U.S. and China comes at a sensitive time for both economies. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Trade war

Foxconn's $20bn projects in US and China hit by growth fears

Tech group weighs whether demand justifies extra capacity amid trade war

31 January 2019
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech during the 2018 Hsieh Nien Fan of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei in March 2018.
Trade war

US business confidence in Taiwan slumps on geopolitical concerns

Top asset manager PIMCO warns of higher odds of global recession in late 2020

23 January 2019
Taiwan’s move to further crack down on Chinese tech comes as countries such as the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the U.K. and France are either blocking or considering banning the use of Chinese equipment.
Politics

Taiwan preps China blacklist banning Huawei and ZTE

No Chinese smartphones for government employees, cybersecurity chief says

22 January 2019
Nidec Chairman Shigenobu Nagamori stands to leave a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday. The "maestro of M&A" said he was stunned by China's slowdown. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara)
Trade war

Apple suppliers feel 'extraordinary' change in China demand

TSMC and Nidec cut 2019 forecasts as trade war holds back global economy

18 January 2019
Tourists walk along a shopping street in Asakusa, Tokyo. Japan's visitor numbers have risen for seven consecutive years, but the rate of growth slowed in 2018. (Photo by Shihoko Nakaoka)
Economy

Visitors to Japan hit record high in 2018 but forgo shopping sprees

Moderate growth hints at waning impact as regional competition intensifies

17 January 2019
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen rejects the One China principle.
Opinion

China takes growing risks with tough Taiwan policy

Unless Beijing stops escalating tensions, violent conflict may erupt

16 January 2019
Nanya Technology, Taiwan's biggest memory chip manufacturer, is bracing for a difficult 2019.
Trade war

Memory chipmaker Nanya slashes capex to offset trade war damage

Taiwan DRAM manufacturer blames weak smartphone and server demand

15 January 2019
Taiwan's Foxconn celebrated the 30th anniversary of its first investment in Shenzhen in June 2018. The head of the company says Washington's dispute with China is over technology rather than trade.
Taiwan tech tracker

Foxconn December sales plunge as consumers abandon iPhone

Apple suppliers take hardest hit as Taiwan tech sector contracts in final month

14 January 2019
A tourist in the southern Taiwan city of Kaohsiung (photo by Cheng Ting-fang)
International relations

Taiwan's pro-Beijing mayors spur hopes of Chinese tourist boom

Tsai's re-election bid at risk as new local leaders seek closer mainland ties

13 January 2019
Visitors react at a booth of Asus during the annual Computex computer exhibition in Taipei last June. The personal computer maker has fallen into its first quarterly loss in nearly a decade. 
Trade war

Taiwan tech struggles to find growth path in fog of trade war

Onetime highfliers sink into the red -- or bankruptcy

12 January 2019
BASF supplies chemicals used in advanced chipmaking processes by Intel, Samsung and other semiconductor companies. (Photo courtesy of BASF SE)
China tech

BASF tech leaked to China by workers, authorities say

Six people arrested in Taiwan, allegedly paid nearly $6m for chip-related secrets

8 January 2019
A semiconductor plant in Anhui Province. President Xi Jinping's goal of achieving chip self-sufficiency faces resistance from the U.S., whose actions are spurring foreign companies to rethink their China plans.
Trade war

Taiwan chipmaker UMC's pullback hurts China self-sufficiency plans

Beijing's dream of mass-producing semiconductors still reliant on outside help

5 January 2019
The Tokyo Stock Exchange opened sharply lower on Friday, mirroring U.S. and Asian markets. (Photo by Wataru Ito)
Markets

Asian stocks fall as Apple warning stokes fears of supplier crunch

Japanese exchange plunges over 700 points at open of 2019 session

4 January 2019
An embedded phase-change memory chip displayed at the stand of Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Trade war

Exclusive: Taiwan's UMC to scale down chip project with Chinese partner

Sources say Fujian Jinhua project to be dismantled after US charges

4 January 2019
The just-signed law says it is U.S. policy to conduct regular freedom-of-navigation exercises in the South China Sea and other Indo-Pacific waters.
Trade war

Trump and Congress up pressure on China with Asian-security law

American lawmakers seek united front on trade talks as March deadline looms

3 January 2019
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan" at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday
International relations

China's Xi clashes with Taiwan's Tsai over unity call

President draws rebuke from island's leader after 'One China' speech

2 January 2019
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2 January 2019
A logo of Foxconn is seen at its headquarters in Taiwan. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
China tech

Exclusive: Foxconn plans $9bn China chip project amid trade war

Zhuhai's subsidy to fund Apple supplier semiconductor ambition

21 December 2018
Hyundai Motor cars are ready for loading at the company's export yard at the South Korean port of Ulsan. The country's exports to China fell for the first time in about two years in November.
Trade war

US-China trade war continues to weigh on Asian manufacturers

November PMI shows grim export picture, but cheaper crude helps ease pain

10 December 2018