By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterConstruction loans grew for an eighth straight month to a record NT$2.06 trillion (US$68.21 billion) last month, data released by the central bank on Wednesday showed. Construction loans are indicative of the construction sector’s attitude toward the real-estate market, which fell to a low of NT$1.61 billion in June 2016 after the government introduced a series of policies to rein in the market. Demand for industrial land has been on the rise throughout the year and companies’ expenditure on industrial-related construction licenses could hit the highest in five years this year. “Spending on factory, industrial and storage construction licenses also increased gradually since hitting a trough in 2016,” she said. “The bank will keep a watchful eye on risk management in financial institutions associated with real-estate lending so as to safeguard financial stability,” the central bank said in a statement released after the board meeting that day.

Source: Taipei Times December 27, 2019 15:56 UTC