The Ministry of Economic Affairs is studying the feasibility of subsidizing households which replace fluorescent lighting and incandescent lights with energy-efficient and higher-priced LED light bulbs, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Francis Liang (粱國新) told reporters yesterday.
Liang made the remark on the sidelines of an investment forum in Taipei, after local media reported earlier yesterday that the ministry is planning to spend about NT$1 billion (US$34 million) on a new green energy subsidy program, citing Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥).
Liang did not elaborate on the details of the subsidy program.
On Thursday, Shih said that the ministry is planning the subsidy program in a bid to encourage consumers to buy LED bulbs.
The ministry is expected to release details about the subsidy program within two weeks, including subsidizing consumers by offering half the cost of each LED bulb purchase, Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) quoted Shih as saying.
In retail stores, LED bulbs cost around NT$400 to NT$500 each, much more than other energy-saving light bulbs. With the ministry’s subsidy, consumers would pay half as much for LED bulbs.
“The subsidy program should accelerate the growth of LED lighting in the residential market, which has a low single-digit penetration rate now,” Primasia Securities Co analyst Filia Lin said in a note yesterday.
In Japan, the Eco-Point program has successfully boosted the penetration ratio of LED lighting in that country to double-digits, local media reported.
While consumers may delay the purchase of LED bulbs until the ministry launches the subsidy program, analysts said in the long run the more affordable products would help local LED lighting makers to gain a bigger market share.
“This is a positive move for Taiwanese LED companies, especially Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) and Everlight Electronics Co (億光電子) which have their own-brands and which should witness significant growth in the retail market,” Lin said.
Shares of most LED bulb makers rose yesterday on the ministry’s subsidy plan, with Delta increasing 2.25 percent to NT$113.50, Everlight closing up 1.71 percent at NT$47.45, and China Electric Manufacturing Co (中國電器) rising by the daily maximum of 7 percent to NT$21.1.
Companies that manufactured LED components also attracted buying on the back of the government subsidy plan, with shares of Formosa Epitaxy Inc (璨圓光電) rising 1.90 percent to NT$21.40 and Edison Opto Corp (艾笛森光電) finishing 0.98 percent higher at NT$46.40.
Nonetheless, Lin said a subsidy program would also heat up competition in both pricing and quality, leaving players with stronger channel distributions and product quality able to stand out from the crowd.
“Such changes should help avoid the problem of small companies selling poor-quality products, which lowers consumer confidence and interest,” he said.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his