Onshore yuan-denominated deposits last month slid for the 12th consecutive month to 162.529 billion yuan (US$22.3 billion), a 2.28 percent decline from a month earlier and the lowest in nine-and-a-half years, data released by the central bank showed yesterday.
The monthly decrease of 3.795 billion yuan from 166.324 billion yuan in June came as investors continued to lose interest in the Chinese currency amid deteriorating sentiment toward the country’s economy and growing worries about its financial turmoil.
Onshore yuan deposits include those at local banks’ domestic banking units (DBUs) and those at offshore banking units (OBUs) in Taiwan.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Central bank data showed that yuan deposits at DBUs decreased 5.71 percent from the previous month to 127.544 billion yuan, while those in OBUs increased 12.65 percent to 34.985 billion yuan.
While the US Federal Reserve’s rate hike cycle is widely expected to be nearing its end, US dollar deposits have continued to attract interest among institutional and individual investors given its bigger interest spread compared with yuan deposits, the central bank said.
Based on information provided by the central bank, Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行) offers the highest interest rate in Taiwan for one-month yuan deposits at 3.05 percent, while Sunny Bank (陽信銀行) provides the highest rate for three-month deposits at 1.9 percent.
The highest interest rate for six-month, nine-month and one-year yuan time deposits are 2.1 percent at the Bank of Kaohsiung (高雄銀行), 1.35 percent at Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) and 2.2 percent at Sunny Bank respectively, the data showed.
In other news, the Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday said that 22 institutional investors in Taiwan had bought a combined NT$170 million (US$5.32 million) of corporate bonds issued by financially troubled Chinese property giant Country Garden Holdings Co (碧桂園).
Country Garden failed to pay two US dollar bond issues worth US$22.5 million that were due on Aug. 6, and suspended trading of 11 of its domestic bonds from Monday.
The 22 Taiwanese investors had bought Country Garden bonds through five Taiwanese banks, but they are not those that defaulted, the commission said.
Meanwhile, domestic investment trust companies have a combined NT$1.7 billion exposure to Hong Kong-listed Country Garden, it added.
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