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Tag: Ministry of Economic Affairs

  • Taiwan Freezes Electricity Rates at NT$3.78 per Kilowatt-Hour Until December Review

    Taiwan Freezes Electricity Rates at NT$3.78 per Kilowatt-Hour Until December Review

    Taiwan has frozen average electricity tariffs at NT$3.78 per kilowatt-hour through December. The decision rejects a proposed 12.83 percent increase by state utility Taiwan Power Co to curb broader consumer price inflation.

    This is the second consecutive freeze by the Ministry of Economic Affairs electricity price review committee. Any potential rate adjustment now shifts to January at the earliest.

    Taipower requested an increase to NT$4.2675 per kilowatt-hour after absorbing higher generation costs from volatile global energy markets. The government will instead seek a NT$71.1 billion (US$2.24 billion) Cabinet-backed supplementary budget. That funding will cover fuel deficits the utility incurred between March and August.

    Subsidy Request Replaces Proposed Double-Digit Hike

    International crude oil prices swung between $68 and $132 per barrel during recent Middle East escalations, forcing state power suppliers across Asia to absorb steep fuel cost swings. Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Lai Chien-hsin confirmed the tariff committee chose direct fiscal support over passing generation expenses to commercial users and households.

    The ministry expects Taipower to post a full-year loss of NT$71.1 billion without state intervention. Lawmakers in the Legislative Yuan must still approve the funding. That sign-off is needed to restore balance-sheet working capital and avert sharper tariff hikes in early 2027.

    Split Rates Debated for Advanced Manufacturing

    Committee discussions included proposals to introduce differential pricing for high-load artificial intelligence data centers and advanced semiconductor fabrication facilities. General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China chairman Paul Hsu argued against blanket relief. He advocated targeted adjustments on high-tech consumers while protecting small commercial enterprises.

    We hope electricity rates can be frozen for households and small and medium-sized traditional industries, while high-tech industries should see moderate price adjustment.

    Regulators declined to implement split rates during the session, citing the risk to export competitiveness without comprehensive usage data. A specialized working group will now study industry consumption patterns, economic output, and consumer price transmission channels before the December meeting.

    Mounting Deficits at the State Utility

    Taipower accumulated losses exceeding NT$400 billion over recent operating cycles while absorbing global crude oil spikes to protect domestic retail price stability. The utility lost another NT$21.4 billion during the first seven months of the year. That brought cumulative balance-sheet losses to NT$372.2 billion.

    A net profit of NT$76.1 billion in the prior financial year gave the company narrow financial leeway to withstand the immediate freeze, according to Taipower president Kuo Tien-ho.

    What Operators Face Heading into 2027

    For commercial store networks, logistics hubs, and physical retailers across Taiwan, the decision provides short-term visibility on utility overheads during peak fourth-quarter shopping periods. Keeping tariffs below generation costs shifts the strain onto legislative fiscal approvals. If lawmakers trim the requested allocation, operators face a sharp cost cliff.

    Commercial landlords and chain operators must now model utility expense increases into their preliminary 2027 budgets. The ministry will publish full meeting minutes and Taipower cost datasets on October 2. Regulators will then finalize transmission, distribution, and base tariff rates for next year at the third review meeting in December.

  • Taiwan domestic supermarket sales up almost 10 percent in March

    Taiwan domestic supermarket sales up almost 10 percent in March

    Sales posted by supermarkets in Taiwan rose almost 10 percent year-on-year in March, outperforming the retail sector as a whole, because of the expansion of their retail networks, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

    Efforts to promote fresh food in their stores also boosted supermarket sales compared with the same month a year earlier, the MOEA said.

    In a monthly report on the sales of the wholesale, retail and dining sectors in Taiwan, the MOEA said supermarkets saw sales of NT$14.8 billion (US$458 million) in March, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier, while the overall retail sector’s revenue rose only 1.1 percent year-on-year to NT$319.6 billion .

    The MOEA said that with PXMart, one of Taiwan’s leading supermarket chains, planning to add stores this year and next year, the supermarket segment could continue to see sales grow in the near future.

    PXMart has announced it will expand its network to 900 outlets in 2016 and 1,000 in 2017 from 794 at the end of 2015.

    Also in the retail sector, sales posted by department stores rose 3.6 percent in March from a year earlier to NT$21.9 billion as they introduced new products to consumers and added stores, the report said.

    Sales at hypermarts and convenience stores rose 4.4 percent and 1.4 percent in March from a year ago, respectively, to NT$13.8 billion and NT$24.5 billion, according to the report.

    The domestic retail sector also benefited from a 10.7 percent rise in online retail sales in March from a year earlier to NT$19.7 billion and aggressive promotional campaigns in the automotive industry that pushed the sector’s sales 5.3 percent higher to NT$52.8 billion.

    As for the wholesale sector, the MOEA said, revenue fell 5.3 percent from a year earlier to NT$785.7 billion during the month as notebook computer and LCD TV buyers from Japan continued to cut back their orders.

    Falling prices for flat panels and dynamic random access memory chips also affected wholesale sales in the month, the ministry said.

    Wholesale trade in beauty and health products bucked the downturn, however, posting a 4.7 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to NT$36.4 billion due to a flu outbreak and promotional activities ahead of Mother’s Day, the MOEA said.

    Meanwhile, revenue posted by the dining sector fell 1.8 percent in March from a year earlier to NT$33.6 billion, ending a 13-month streak of year-on-year gains. The MOEA said the decline was due to the high number of rainy days during the month, which kept families indoors.

    Within the dining category, restaurants saw their sales fall 1.7 percent in March from a year earlier to NT$28.5 billion, and beverage vendors saw revenues dip 3.6 percent year-on-year to NT$3.7 billion, the MOEA said.