Trade volume at the Port of Kaohsiung’s free-trade zones rose by more than 50 percent as of November, Taiwan International Ports Co said yesterday.
Trade volume and trade value in the free-trade zones have grown significantly since the port received London Metal Exchange (LME) certification in 2013, the company said.
Total trade volume at the zones last year reached 1.099 million in the January-to-November period, an increase of 56.94 percent from the same period in 2016, according to statistics provided by the company’s branch office in Kaohsiung.
Trade value also rose by 20.99 percent to NT$74.8 billion (US$2.52 billion) during the period, statistics showed.
Both figures set new records, the company said.
Trade volume rose by 21.26 percent to 745,200 tonnes in 2015, while trade value grew by 45.72 percent to NT$59.87 billion.
Although trade volume rose by only 3.29 percent to 769,700 tonnes in 2016, trade value grew by 16.14 percent to NT$69.54 billion.
The company said that it is calculating last month’s trade volume and trade value, but added that the statistics suggest that the performance in both categories as of November last year have exceeded those from a year earlier.
The company said it last year succeeded in attracting eight investors, including a company manufacturing large machinery that had warehouses in Nansing Free Trade Zone (南星計畫區), to establish operational bases in the free-trade zones.
Three new warehouses have been built in Nansing Free Trade Zone, First Container Terminal and the free-trade zone in Cianjheng (前鎮), it said.
Aside from non-ferrous metals, the products handled or processed at the free-trade zones before being shipped elsewhere include pulp, fresh food, components for large machinery and chemicals, the company said.
It said that this year it plans to attract more investors to the free-trade zones, specifically logistics firms handling frozen goods and large items, as well as galvanized coil processing firms.
Companies at the free-trade-zones can also have their products processed at the factories there, the company said, adding that it would work with tax authorities to ensure that companies at the free-trade zones would not lose their competitive advantage.
The LME is the world’s largest non-ferrous metals exchange market.
Other LME-certified ports in Asia include Yokohama and Nagoya in Japan; Busan, Incheon and Gwangyang in South Korea; Johor PTP and Klang in Malaysia; and the Port of Singapore.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all