Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) yesterday voiced optimism about Taiwan’s economy, saying the worst is over and that GDP growth would reach 3 percent next year, which would be favorable to its operations.
Fubon Financial chief economist Rick Lo (羅瑋) unveiled his projections during an online media briefing, citing improvement in the nation’s exports, a critical economic gauge.
Exports last month slipped back into contraction, but might stage a sustained rebound from this month onward, the Ministry of Finance has said.
Photo: CNA
Major tech firms offered similar earnings guidance.
Lo said the market is now less concerned about whether the US Federal Reserve would raise its policy rate by another 25 basis points to tame inflation and avoid asset bubble busts.
The Fed would assign more importance to how its earlier rate hikes would affect the US economy, a process that needs more time to pan out, Lo said.
The restrictive monetary cycle is likely over in light of the latest US inflation data, he added.
The market is now looking at an interest rate cut of 0.75 percentage points by the Fed in June next year to avert a recession, Lo said.
A lenient monetary stance is favorable to corporate investment and capital expenditure as borrowing costs drop.
Private investment is widely expected to regain growth momentum next year after playing a laggard this year, Lo said.
Consumer spending would stay healthy, helped by a resilient job market, although the benefits of revenge consumption would taper off, he said.
Taipei-based Fubon Financial retained its title as the most profitable financial holding company with cumulative net earnings of NT$67.8 billion (US$2.13 billion), or NT$4.94 per share, company data showed.
Fubon Financial said it intends to raise its stakes in bonds and equities if monetary tightening is over.
It trimmed its stock holdings to 7.9 percent at the end of last quarter, from 8.8 percent a year earlier, after realizing capital gains, officials said.
Main subsidiary Taipei Fubon Bank (台北富邦銀行) last quarter became the nation’s second-
largest credit card issuer, based on the number of active cards, after it replaced Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) in August as Costco Taiwan’s exclusive partner.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
WARNING SHOT: The US president has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles, and similar or higher duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that a trade deal with China was “possible” — a key target in the US leader’s tariffs policy. The US in 2020 had already agreed to “a great trade deal with China” and a new deal was “possible,” Trump said. Trump said he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit the US, without giving a timeline for his trip. Trump also said that he was talking to China about TikTok, as the US seeks to broker a sale of the popular app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動). Trump last week said that he had
RSS