Shimron Hetmyer steers Delhi to top of IPL table
Shimron Hetmyer steers Delhi to top of IPL tableAFP, DUBAIWest Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer on Monday produced a match-winning cameo as the Delhi Capitals edged out the Chennai Super Kings by three wickets to take the lead on the IPL table. “Very important for me to finish games,” the left-handed Hetmyer said. Delhi, who inched closer to a top-two finish in the league stage, made Chennai slip to second, while Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore remain third. Finishing in the top two gives the teams a second chance among the four teams to make the finals on Oct. 15. Bravo got Patel out in the final over, but new man Kagiso Rabada hit the winning runs to take Delhi to 20 points in 13 matches.
Source:Taipei Times
October 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Global film and TV event to have Taiwan pavilion
Global film and TV event to have Taiwan pavilionBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) yesterday said it would present a Taiwan pavilion on the online platform of the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) — a leading event in the international film and television industry to be held from Monday to Thursday next week. The pavilion is being organized with support from the Ministry of Culture’s Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, the agency said in a statement, adding that it would promote 55 films and 98 television shows from Taiwan to the rest of the world. The E-IP Market is a zone for trading original content adaptable across media, ACFM’s Web site says. In related news, the Taiwan Creative Content Fest — an international market and exhibition launched by TAICCA last year — is to return for a second edition from Nov. 10 to Nov. 14. Themed “Welcome to the Metaverse,” the event is to celebrate Taiwanese content driven by technology and creativity, the agency said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Commercial property transactions gain 14.3%
Commercial property transactions gain 14.3%By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterCommercial property transactions last quarter gained 14.3 percent from three months earlier to NT$31.32 billion (US$1.12 billion), while land deals jumped 15.8 percent to NT$77.5 billion, propelled by demand for commercial and industrial office spaces, as well as factories, Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan (戴德梁行) said yesterday. In the first three quarters of the year, commercial property deals totaled NT$105.07 billion, already surpassing the figure for the whole of last year, the local branch of the US property consultancy said. Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan managing director Billy Yen speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Land deals have been hot, with an average quarterly volume of NT$73.8 billion for the past two-and-a-half years, the consultancy said. It is unlikely that property prices would fall, given increasingly expensive building materials and land costs, Yen said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Fantasia fails to make payments
Fantasia fails to make paymentsCHINESE PROPERTY: Fantasia did not repay a US$205.7 million note, while S&P Global Ratings has downgraded Sinic’s rating, saying ‘a default-like process has begun’AFP, BEIJINGFantasia Holdings Group (花樣年控股集團), a Chinese homebuilder, on Monday missed payments on debt obligations, adding to worries over the country’s property sector as embattled giant China Evergrande Group (恆大集團) teeters on the brink of collapse. Fantasia Holdings failed to repay a US$205.7 million note, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement. Photo: APThis came as property management firm Country Garden Services Holdings Co (碧桂園) added that a unit of Fantasia had missed repayment on a 700 million yuan (US$108 million) loan, saying it was likely that Fantasia would default. While Fantasia is a smaller player in the market than Evergrande, its struggles highlight investor concerns over companies’ financial disclosures. Fitch Ratings on Monday downgraded Fantasia to “CCC-,” which indicates default is a possibility.
Source:Taipei Times
October 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Airline group IATA says carbon target set for 2050
Airline group IATA says carbon target set for 2050AP, GENEVAThe world’s largest association of airlines on Monday said that it is aiming for the air transport industry to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, while acknowledging that it will be a “huge challenge.”The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has key offices in Geneva, said its general meeting in Boston had agreed on the target, a commitment that would line it up with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming under 1.5°C above pre-industrial times. The industry appears to be counting heavily on a carbon-offset plan laid out by a UN organization on civil aviation, but suggests governments have a role to play, too. KLM chief executive officer Pieter Elbers speaks at the International Air Transport Association’s annual general meeting in Boston on Monday. Photo: Reuters“With collective efforts of the entire value chain and supportive government policies, aviation will achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” IATA director-general Willie Walsh said in a statement. One scenario foresees sustainable fuels accounting for nearly two-thirds of the roughly 1.8 gigatons of carbon that would need to be mitigated for airlines to reach net-zero emissions, Walsh said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Forex reserves rise to US$544.9bn
Forex reserves rise to US$544.9bnBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTaiwan’s foreign exchange reserves last month totaled US$544.9 billion, rising US$1.32 billion from August to a record for the second straight month, the central bank said yesterday, crediting foreign-exchange management. Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) said that the US dollar gained 1.73 percent last month, allowing the bank’s investment gains to more than absorb unfavorable exchange twists. Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves last month totaled US$544.9 billion, rising US$1.32 billion from August to a record for the second straight month, the central bank said yesterday. That explained why foreign portfolio investors trimmed their holdings in local shares and New Taiwan dollar deposits, which totaled US$691.3 billion last month, or 1.27 times the value of the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, he said. Taiwan remained the world’s fifth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, trailing China, Japan, Switzerland and India, the central bank said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Rookie Theegala seizes PGA lead, Pan closes in
Rookie Theegala seizes PGA lead, Pan closes inAFP, WASHINGTONSahith Theegala, chasing his first US PGA title, on Saturday fired a bogey-free five-under-par 67 to grab a one-stroke lead in the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship, with Taiwan’s C.T. The 23-year-old American, a rookie making only his 15th US PGA start, stood on 18-under 198 after 54 holes at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi. Pan watches his drive from the second tee during the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi, on Saturday. His second round performance was flawless, with birdies on holes five, six and 14, and an eagle on three. At the LPGA ShopRite Classic in Galloway, New Jersey, Ko Jin-young and Park In-bee set the stage for a South Korean shoot-out, firing second-round 65s to share a two-stroke lead after the second round.
Source:Taipei Times
October 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: CECC eases outdoor mask regulations
COVID-19: CECC eases outdoor mask regulationsBREATHE EASY: People like farmers, and visitors to forests and beaches, would not have to wear masks as long as they can ensure social distancing, the minister of health saidStaff writer, with CNAThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced a partial relaxation of the nation’s outdoor mask mandate as it reported zero new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases. A farmer works in a field in Taipei yesterday. From tomorrow, farmers are not required to wear masks if they are outdoors and can maintain social distancing. A comprehensive outdoor mask mandate was introduced after Taiwan’s COVID-19 alert level was raised to level 3 in May, amid a spike in locally transmitted cases. With no new deaths reported yesterday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths remained at 843, with all but 12 recorded since May 15, the data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
October 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Walter Lohman On Taiwan: Back to basics on Taiwan’s participation in international organizations
Walter Lohman On Taiwan: Back to basics on Taiwan’s participation in international organizationsFor all the hard work and debate, Congress may not present an omnibus China bill to the President this year. There are big problems with that bill — not least its price tag — but among the useful things it does is incorporate two measures on Taiwan’s international space. Look, even with all that’s going on with China now — its wolf warrior diplomacy, its armed harassment of Taiwan — it’s a hard slog getting support for expanding Taiwan’s international space. There is an enormous amount to be done besides, as anyone close to the effort to help Taiwan gain participation in international organizations can attest. Kudos to Congressmen Bera, Chabot, Connolly, Curtis, their many co-sponsors and the House Foreign Affairs Committee for grasping this.
Source:Taipei Times
October 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Local firms taking risk in China
Local firms taking risk in ChinaBy Liu Ming-te 劉明德In the short, medium and long term, Taiwanese businesses operating in China are likely to face three major problems. In 2018, China imported more than 80 million tonnes of coal from Australia, or more than 20 percent of total coal imports that year. As a result, Taiwanese businesses operating in China will in the foreseeable future likely experience frequent power outages and must prepare for them to increase in duration. Taiwanese businesses operating in China might therefore come under significantly increased pressure from local governments, including with regard to taxation, environmental regulations and labor disputes. Finally, if Taiwanese businesses operating in China believe that the CCP would not know how much money they have made, then they are naive in the extreme.
Source:Taipei Times
October 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Academia Sinica might change ‘confusing’ name
Academia Sinica has sometimes been confused with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as its Latin name translates to “Chinese Academy” in English, Fan said at the time. The entrance to Academia Sinica in Taipei’s Nangang District is pictured on Dec. 31 last year. Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei TimesLiao promised to ensure that Academia Sinica members discuss a name change, and has since formed an ad hoc committee for that purpose, which has met four times. Changing it might also result in difficulties when cooperating with Chinese researchers, it said. Fan on Saturday commended the institution for its progress on the matter, and said she welcomed further deliberation by all Academia Sinica members and researchers.
Source:Taipei Times
October 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Gasoline, diesel prices to rise by NT$0.1 per liter
Gasoline, diesel prices to rise by NT$0.1 per literBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterCPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday said they would raise gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.1 per liter this week, effective today, after keeping their fuel prices unchanged last week. Prices at CPC stations would rise to NT$28.3, NT$29.8 and NT$31.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while the price of premium diesel would increase to NT$25.4 per liter, CPC said in a statement. Prices at Formosa stations would rise to NT$28.3, NT$29.7 and NT$31.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while the price of premium diesel would increase to NT$25.2 per liter. Formosa said in a separate statement that surging natural gas prices had led to increased demand for fuel for power generation, which in turn pushed up crude oil prices. However, a stronger US dollar and an unexpected increase in US crude oil inventories capped the increase in oil prices last week, Formosa added.
Source:Taipei Times
October 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Poll shows concern over Chinese port investments
Poll shows concern over Chinese port investments‘REOPEN INVESTIGATIONS’: A New Power Party survey showed satisfaction with President Tsai, although most want action on Chinese stakes in ports and science parksBy Hsieh Chun-ling and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerA poll conducted by the New Power Party (NPP) showed that a majority of respondents want authorities to crack down on Chinese investment in Taiwan’s science parks and ports, the party said yesterday. Chinese investment in science parks and port areas is viewed as a national security concern, the NPP told a media briefing in Taipei. The DPP had not listened to the NPP’s suggestion of increasing housing taxes for those with multiple properties, which would likely have helped curb prices, NPP Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said. The survey also asked respondents how satisfied they were with the performance of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌). The poll showed that 56 percent were satisfied with Tsai’s performance and 37.4 percent were dissatisfied, while 49.5 percent were satisfied with Su and 43.1 percent dissatisfied.
Source:Taipei Times
October 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Medigen to develop next-gen vaccine on Beta variant
Medigen to develop next-gen vaccine on Beta variantBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterMedigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) is planning to develop its next-generation COVID-19 vaccine by using a sequence of the Beta variant of SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in South Africa, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The company’s animal tests showed that a booster shot built on the Beta variant prompted immunity in hamsters against all variants of the virus, it said. The logo of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp is pictured at the entrance to the company’s facility in Hsinchu on Aug. 31. Medigen in May conducted research on whether a third dose of its current vaccine would bolster immunity against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, the company said. Hamsters that were given two shots developed on the original virus and a third shot based on the Beta variant developed the highest antibody levels, regardless of whether they were infected with the Alpha, Beta, Gamma or Delta variants, the company said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
EDITORIAL: Reinvesting during China’s outages
EDITORIAL: Reinvesting during China’s outagesOver the past two to three decades, Taiwan’s tepid economy has been routinely compared with China’s rapid growth. China’s continuous growth has led some to think that it would leave its rivals, including the US, far behind. In the peak season for manufacturers, Beijing has had to resort to power rationing because of electricity shortages in some parts of China. Whatever its goals, Beijing’s unexpected power rationing has not only affected Chinese industries, but also foreign companies, including those in Taiwan. The business environment in China — from regulatory tightening to Evergrande Group’s financial turmoil to the recent power rationing — is deteriorating, pushing investment risks higher.
Source:Taipei Times
October 03, 2021 15:56 UTC