Driverless vehicles are expected to be on the roads within 10 years, thanks to technological innovation, their computerized brains smart enough to use satellite signals to navigate. Auto security systems, by then, should be mature enough to help cars negotiate streets and highways, spot obstacles,

The auto-parts industry in China has grown rapidly in the past one decade or so, with export value soaring from US$1.63 billion in 2001 to US$52.2 billion in 2011. Auto parts now play a bigger part to generate China's automotive-related revenue, while China-made parts make up for increasingly hig

Taipei, Aug.29, 2012 (CENS)--Ability Enterprise Co., a Taiwanese original design manufacturer (ODM) of digital cameras, saw gross profit margin in the second quarter hit 10.18%, exceeding 10% for the first time in seven quarters, with net profits up 23% quarter on quarter (QoQ), NT$0.89 (US$0.03) i

Taipei, Aug. 29, 2012(CENS) - Feng Tay group, the No. 2 footwear maker in Taiwan, recently posted its first-half financial report that the firm raked in after-tax net profits of about NT$ 644 million (US$ 21.46 million), with a sizable surge of 35.3% year on year (YoY); and its earning per share (E

Following the announcement of national electric vehicle (EV) standards in May, China published an industrial development plan in July titled “Energy-efficient and New Energy Vehicle Industrial Development Plan, 2012-2020,” with the two initiatives to accelerate the development of China’s EV industr

Taipei, Aug. 28, 2012 (CENS)--Eying the automobile market in Russia, Taiwan's Yulon Group will attend the 8th International Automotive show InterAuto 2012 to be held in Moscow August 31-September 9, to promote its own line of Luxgens. K.C. Hu, president of Luxgen Motor Co., Ltd. of Yulon Group,

Taipei, Aug.27, 2012 (CENS)--Affected by volatile global economy, Taiwan’s sewing-machine manufacturers Zeng Hsing Industrial Co. and Kaulin Manufacturing Co. saw mixed performance in revenues and profits in the first half. Zeng Hsing Industrial Co., maker of low and mid-priced household sewing

Taipei, Aug. 24, 2012 (CENS)--The outstanding loans extended by domestic banks to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reached NT$4.27 trillion (US$142.33 billion) at the end of June, up 4.99% from NT$4.07 trillion (US$135.67 billion) recorded at the end of last year, according to the statisti

Taipei, Aug.24, 2012 (CENS)--Despite uncertain global economic outlook due to debt crisis in Europe and slowdown in China, Taiwan’s machine tool exports increased 9% to US$2.09 billion in the first half, said R.X. Yan, chairman of Tongtai Machine & Tool Co., a machine-tool maker in Taiwan. Whi

Surging production costs due to factors such as rising oil prices worldwide have led customers of Taiwanese packaging equipment suppliers to demand more cost-efficient products. What customers have wanted most has been shorter product delivery, less labor time, zero material waste, accurate one

Taipei, Aug. 22, 2012 (CENS)--With the impending inking of the cross-strait currency settlement agreement, Taiwanese banks are ready to handle renminbi (RMB)-based transactions. Overseas branches and offshore banking units (OBUs) of Taiwanese banks have so far taken RMB deposits totaling 17 bill

Taipei, Aug.22, 2012 (CENS)--Taiwan Cement Co. (TCC) and Asia Cement, two Taiwan-based cement makers, saw plummeting profits in the first half, due to decreasing cement prices and shrinking infrastructural work. Taiwan Cement International Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of TCC, posted 70.4% year on ye

Taipei, Aug.22, 2012 (CENS)--Nan Shan Life Co., Taiwan-based life insurer, aims to expand its Asian business by tapping markets in China and Vietnam, also planning to go public in 2014. A reliable source pointed out that the company’s representative office in Shanghai, China is expected to be

Taipei, Aug. 22, 2012 (CENS)--Taiwan’s garment makers saw mixed earning performance in the first seven months, with Makalot Industrial Co. seeing pre-tax earning per share (EPS) of NT$ 5.43 (US$ 0.181), and Tainan Enterprise Co. suffering declining pre-tax EPS of NT$ 0.38 (US$ 0.0126). Tainan En

Taipei, Aug.21, 2012 (CENS)--Non-life or general insurers in Taiwan saw compensation or payout total over NT$29.5 billion (US$983.3 million) in the first half, up about 10% year on year (YoY) for a new high since 2008, said the Taiwan Insurance Institute (TII), with payout of voluntary automobile

Taipei, Aug. 20, 2012 (CENS)--Makalot Industrial Co., a maker in Taiwan of garments, saw pretax earnings in July reach NT$120 million (US$4 million), increasing 27.43% year on year (YoY) to NT$895 million (US$29.83) in the first seven months, with NT$5.43 (US$0.181) in pretax earnings per share (E

Taipei, Aug.20, 2012 (CENS)--Hon Chuan Group, a maker of beverage packaging in Taiwan, saw two aseptic plants in Taichung (central Taiwan) both fully booked in July and August. With the firm’s plants in China and Southeast Asia, an institutional investor predicts the firm’s revenues to exceed NT$17

Taipei, Aug.17, 2012 (CENS)--ASUSTek Computer Inc. (Asus), a Taiwanese multinational computer hardware and electronics company, saw tablet shipments in the second quarter shoot up 26.2% quarter on quarter (QoQ) to 688,000 units, with market share up from 2.7% to 2.8%, ranking 4th globally, said IHS

Taipei, Aug.17, 2012 (CENS)--Life insures in Taiwan saw first year premium (FYP) revenues in July increase from NT$133.4 billion (US$4.45 billion) in June to NT$146.9 billion (US$4.9 billion) in July, again a historic high. With sales of some high-interest rate policies ceased from the second half,

Taipei, Aug.15, 2012 (CENS)--With the coming of the high season in China, Taiwan’s two PC motherboard manufacturers, ASRock Inc. and Gigabyte Technology Co., are expected to report strong growths in revenues and profits in the third quarter. With the release of Windows 8, ASRock will ship an est

Taipei, Aug. 14, 2012 (CENS)--Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., the world’s largest electronic contract manufacturer now, scored revenue of NT$248.6 billion in July, for a 4.98% increase month on month (MoM) or a 8.39% gain from a year ago, to reverse downturns seen in the past three consecutiv

Taipei, Aug. 14, 2012 (CENS)--Mainly suffering from market inertia caused by the upcoming Windows 8, Acer Inc., one of the world’s top five brand vendors of PCs, saw its revenue for July drastically plunge 43% month on month to NT$22.657 billion, marking the company’s biggest drop ever seen in its

Taipei, Aug.14, 2012 (CENS)--Nan Shan Life Co. of Taiwan saw net profits reach NT$2.7 billion (US$90 million) in July to total NT$7.3 billion (US$243.3 million) in the first seven months, leading life insurers in Taiwan. M.J. Shih, chief financial officer of Nan-Shan, pointed out that, with strateg

Taipei, Aug. 14, 2012 (CENS)--Entering the traditional peak from June to September for the air and marine shippers, China Airlines, Eva Airlines, and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. saw promising revenues in July. According to China Airlines, the firm posted revenue of NT$ 12.42 billion (US$

Taipei, Aug. 13, 2012 (CENS)--Poor sales for the second quarter have prompted Japan’s first-tier integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) of semiconductor industry, including Renasas Electronics Corp., and Fujitsu, to speed up their outsourcing to pure manufacturers, most of which are in Taiwan.

Taipei, Aug. 13, 2012 (CENS)--Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves edged down by US$127 million from a month earlier to US$391.l08 billion in July, remaining the world’s fourth largest holder of forex reserves, trailing mainland China, Japan and Russia, according to the central bank here. S. Y. Li

Taipei, Aug. 13, 2012 (CENS)--Mainly fretted by market inertia caused by consumers awaiting the upcoming Windows 8, the Taiwan-based Asustek Computer Inc., a top-five PC brand vendor in the world by market shares now, scored revenue of NT$30.207 billion in July, down 16.1% from a month ago or 5.18%

Taipei, Aug. 10, 2012 (CENS)--United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) recently announced it raked in revenue of NT$9.6 billion (US$320 million at US$1:NT$30) in July, hitting a 19-month high and surging 3.49% month on month for a fifth consecutive monthly growth. However, the company’s total revenue

Taipei, Aug. 10, 2012 (CENS)--Affected by the delayed release of Windows 8, Taiwanese contract notebook PC makers saw shipments decline in July, but not so with Quanta Computer Inc., whose revenue hit the second highest of this year, with , Pegatron Corp. and Inventec Corp. both posting the second-

Taipei, Aug. 10, 2012 (CENS)--With increasing tourist arrivals to Taiwan, investment in the hotel sector amounted to NT$ 78.6 billion (US$ 2.62 billion) that will have added over 10,000 rooms over the next six years, with investments in preparatory projects for tourism hotels from 2012 to 2013