President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday encouraged the government, the private sector and academia to work together to develop and internationalize Taiwan’s financial sector by cultivating a local talent pool.
Speaking at a launch ceremony for National Chengchi University’s (NCCU) College of Global Banking and Finance, Tsai said that sound economic growth had enabled Taiwan to have good credit ratings and report solid foreign exchange reserves, creating a good foundation for the country to develop international finance at a time when the financial industry is becoming more global.
On April 29, S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit rating for Taiwan from “AA” to “AA+,” saying that the outlook for the country’s economic performance was favorable based on robust demand for its electronics exports.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
At the end of last month, Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves fell by US$3.71 billion from a month earlier to US$545.06 billion, because of intervention by the central bank to prevent the New Taiwan dollar from losing value.
However, the country was ranked the fourth-largest forex reserve holder in the world, up one place from a month earlier.
In the post-COVID-19 era, Taiwan should cultivate a pool of banking talent to enable the local financial industry to speed up its efforts to meet international standards with assistance from NCCU’s College of Global Banking and Finance, Tsai said.
Taiwan should aim to become a finance hub for enterprises in Asia, as well as a center for wealth management for people with significant assets in the region, she said.
High-ranking government officials such as Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮), central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) and Financial Supervisory Commission Vice Chairwoman Chiu Shu-chen (邱淑貞) also attended the NCCU ceremony, as did representatives from 27 financial institutions.
Tsai said that the presence of these attendees demonstrated Taiwan’s collective effort at becoming a regional financial hub, with the public and private sectors, and academia willing to pour resources into the college.
The new college is the second international finance department in Taiwan to be opened, the Presidential Office said in a statement.
The president last month attended the inauguration of the School of International Finance at National Sun Yat-sen University.
The NCCU college, which is bilingual, is to focus on four areas — international asset management; financial innovations; environment, social and governance; and inclusive financing and legal compliance — and is expected to create a new higher education teaching model by integrating theory with practice, Tsai said.
Inclusive financing is aimed at promoting the availability of banking services to the broadest segment of society at affordable terms.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
RSS