Taiwan is not likely to replace Hong Kong as Asia’s financial center, as the nation has stricter regulations on foreign currency exchange and lags behind in terms of English proficiency, Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
“If we define an international financial center as a place with complete freedom of capital movement, Taiwan would not be one, as the nation aims to maintain the stability of the exchange rate and has rules and limitations on capital flow,” Koo said on the sidelines of an event in New Taipei City.
Taiwan’s non-English environment has also made it more difficult to attract international banks or financial agencies than Hong Kong or Singapore, he said.
Moreover, there are several fundamental differences between Taiwan and Hong Kong in terms of the taxation system and business environment, he added.
The commission is planning to allow banks to include 16 new products in their wealth management programs to attract wealthy investors, who could park their money in Taiwan, but it still needs to negotiate the matter with the central bank, as eight of the 16 products are related to interest rates or exchange rates, he said.
The commission would make a formal announcement by the end of this year after the two reach a consensus, he added.
The launch of such products would provide an incentive for local firms and international investors to park funds in Taiwan, he said.
Further deregulation of banks’ offshore banking units (OBUs) would provide further incentive, he added.
To limit risks, only banks with stronger financial fundamentals would be allowed to launch the products, which could be sold only to high net worth clients, Koo said last month.
Koo has proposed allowing domestic companies or individuals to open accounts at OBUs to apply for loans denominated in foreign currencies, which also needs approval from the central bank.
Taking out foreign-currency loans at OBUs would not be subject to regulations on the exchange rate, making fund flows more convenient, he said.
Taiwan would remain in the same international network for carrying out cross-border payments and would not be marginalized on the world stage, despite jostling among international powers, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said yesterday. Yang made the remarks during a speech at an annual event organized by Financial Information Service Co (財金資訊), which oversees Taiwan’s banking, payment and settlement systems. “The US dollar will remain the world’s major cross-border payment tool, given its high liquidity, legality and safe-haven status,” Yang said. Russia is pushing for a new cross-border payment system and highlighted the issue during a BRICS summit in October. The existing system
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to grow its revenue by about 25 percent to a new record high next year, driven by robust demand for advanced technologies used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications and crypto mining, International Data Corp (IDC) said yesterday. That would see TSMC secure a 67 percent share of the world’s foundry market next year, from 64 percent this year, IDC senior semiconductor research manager Galen Zeng (曾冠瑋) predicted. In the broader foundry definition, TSMC would see its market share rise to 36 percent next year from 33 percent this year, he said. To address concerns
Intel Corp chief financial officer Dave Zinsner said that a formal separation of the company’s factory and product development divisions is an open question that would be decided by the chipmaker’s next leader. Zinsner, who is serving as interim co-CEO following this month’s ouster of Pat Gelsinger, made the remarks on Thursday at the Barclays technology conference in San Francisco alongside co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus. Intel’s struggles to keep pace with rivals — along with its deteriorating financial condition — have spurred speculation that the next CEO would make dramatic changes. That has included talk of a split of the company’s manufacturing
PROTECTIONISM: The tariffs would go into effect on Jan. 1 and are meant to protect the US’ clean energy sector from unfair Chinese practices, the US trade chief said US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to raise tariffs on solar wafers, polysilicon and some tungsten products from China to protect US clean energy businesses. The notice from the Office of US Trade Representative (USTR) said tariffs on Chinese-made solar wafers and polysilicon would rise to 50 percent from 25 percent and duties on certain tungsten products would increase from zero to 25 percent, effective on Jan. 1, following a review of Chinese trade practices under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974. The decision followed a public comment period after the USTR said in September that it was considering