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.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese