Taiwanese banks extended NT$150.3 billion (US$4.63 billion) in new loans to nations included in the government’s New Southbound Policy (NSP) during the first four months of this year, led by lending to India and Australia, data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed earlier this month.
The figure is 1.8 times the NT$83.9 billion in new loans to the NSP nations recorded for the whole of last year and 2.37 times the commission’s annual new loan target of NT$63.4 billion for this year, indicating a steady recovery in fund demand in those markets, the regulator said.
The policy, introduced in 2016, is designed to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and 18 nations in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Oceania: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank
Local banks have in the past few years not only increased lending to clients expanding operations in those nations, but also launched new branches or representative offices in the countries in hopes of attracting more business opportunities.
In April, the commission approved Far Eastern International Bank’s (遠東銀行) application to set up a branch in Singapore and permitted O-Bank Co (王道銀行) to launch a representative office in Sydney, Australia, after in February allowing Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) to open a branch in Mumbai, India.
During the first four months of this year, new loans to India totaled NT$80.2 billion, topping all other NSP nations, followed by Australia with NT$32 billion, Singapore with NT$18.2 billion and Vietnam with NT$13.1 billion, commission data showed.
By individual banks, Taipei Fubon was the most active with new loans of NT$18.9 billion in the first four months, ahead of CTBC Bank’s (中國信託銀行) NT$18 billion and Bank SinoPac’s (永豐銀行) NT$10 billion, followed by Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) with NT$9.7 billion and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行) with NT$9.3 billion, the data showed.
Overall, Taiwanese banks’ outstanding loans to the 18 nations at the end of April totaled NT$1.74 trillion, the data showed.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his