Rakuten bets on 2% fixed-term deposit accounts
Rakuten bets on 2% fixed-term deposit accountsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterRakuten International Commercial Bank Co (樂天國際商銀) on Friday announced that it would offer a relatively high interest rate of 2 percent for its fixed-term deposit accounts if clients deposit more than NT$20,000 at the Web-only bank, in a bid to enhance its competitive position in the Internet banking market. The annual interest rate of 2 percent would apply to three categories of monthly fixed-term deposits — NT$20,000, NT$50,000 and NT$100,000 — but the deposit rate would only be calculated once, when the deposits mature after one month, so the annual rate would be equivalent to a monthly rate of 0.167 percent, the bank said in a statement. After the fixed-term deposits mature, they would automatically become demand deposits and clients could then decide how to deal with them themselves, Rakuten Bank said. The Rakuten International Commercial Bank logo is displayed at the company’s headquarters in Taipei on March 4 last year. The monthly fixed-term deposit program marked Rakuten Bank’s latest effort to attract clients after it provided an annual deposit interest rate of 1 percent for deposits with a one-year maturity.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Vouchers open for thousands of foreigners: NIA
COVID-19: Vouchers open for thousands of foreigners: NIAEXPANDED COVERAGE: APRC holders, foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens and foreign diplomats can apply for vouchers starting on Sunday, the agency saidStaff writer, with CNAMore than 155,000 foreign nationals, mainly Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (APRC) holders and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens, would be eligible to obtain the government’s Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers next month, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday. Premier Su Tseng-chang holds and points to specimens of the Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers at a news conference in Taipei on Wednesday last week. Photo: Wu Chih-lun, Taipei TimesRegistration to obtain the digital version of the vouchers would open tomorrow for Taiwanese citizens of all ages and eligible foreign nationals, it said. Eligible foreigners who have not yet obtained an NHI card can take their residency certificate to a post office to collect a printed version of the vouchers, starting on Oct. 8, it said. Once informed, the NIA would register them in the system as spouses of Taiwanese citizens so they can claim their vouchers, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Prudential targets up to US$2.89bn in HK share offering
Prudential targets up to US$2.89bn in HK share offeringBloombergPrudential PLC plans to raise up to US$2.89 billion in a new share offering in Hong Kong as the insurance giant eyes long-term growth opportunities in Asia and Africa. The new shares would be offered at a maximum of HK$172 (US$22.09) apiece and would be traded in Hong Kong on Oct. 4. GOALSThe company is building capacity to serve 50 million customers by 2025, Prudential executive director James Turner said at a briefing in Hong Kong on Sunday. “One thing that we noticed is that all of these regulations are starting to come toward our business model,” Turner said. “What we see is regulation to improve the quality of protection products that are sold to our customers.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Housing developers regain confidence
Housing developers regain confidenceRECOVERY: The value of projects has risen from last year’s autumn sales season, as developers were idle for the past four months due to a COVID-19 outbreakBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe value of presale and new housing projects in the six special municipalities is nearly NT$600 billion (US$21.63 billion) for this autumn sales season, as developers are regaining confidence because the COVID-19 situation has improved, the online housing unit of Addcn Technology Co Ltd (數字科技) said in a report last week. The autumn sales season, from Tuesday next week through next month, is a critical gauge of the new housing market’s health in the second half of the year, the online broker said. Cars are parked outside the construction site of Yuanlih Group’s presale housing project in Taipei’s Wenshan District on July 22. That explained why major developers such as Cathay Real Estate Development Co (國泰建設), Yuanlih Group (元利建設) and Ruentex Development Co (潤泰新) have all joined the arena, the report said. New housing projects in Hsinchu City tumbled 57.9 percent to NT$45.99 billion and 77.1 percent in Tainan, as aggressive development in previous years has prompted builders to become conservative and focus on digesting unsold units first, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Evergrande fears hit Hong Kong stocks
Evergrande fears hit Hong Kong stocksVERGE OF COLLAPSE: Evergrande shares yesterday plunged about 17 percent, as did those of other property firms, leaving the Hang Seng down 3.3 percentAFP, HONG KONGFears of a contagion from the potential collapse of battered Chinese real-estate giant China Evergrande Group (恆大集團) yesterday sent property shares plunging in Hong Kong, with the firm expected to default on upcoming interest payments this week. An electronic screen displays stock figures for companies including China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong yesterday. Attention is now on the company’s repayments, with interest due on bank loans yesterday and two bonds on Thursday. Experts say the firm has more than 1 million units pre-paid by customers yet to be built, adding to the sense of dread among Chinese investors, many of them first-time buyers. “To what extent Evergrande slows the growth momentum remains unclear,” Strickland added.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
CCP’s crackdown no match for Hollywood
CCP’s crackdown no match for HollywoodBloombergAs Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government looks to tame China’s celebrities, the popularity of a new Universal Studios theme park in Beijing shows Hollywood’s enduring soft power among the nation’s 1.4 billion people. Fliggy (飛豬), an online travel site operated by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), last week apologized for overselling the 500 yuan Universal Express Pass that lets visitor skip lines. Visitors walk to the entrance of Universal Studios Beijing on its official opening day yesterday. “Universal Beijing Resort is popular with the Chinese because there is part of the global culture that the Chinese thirst for,” Ni said. Universal Beijing Resort did not respond to a question on how it would deal with China’s requests.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Virus boosts money laundering: UAE central bank
COVID-19: Virus boosts money laundering: UAE central bankReuters, DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates’ central bank sees increased risks of illicit financial flows emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, including money laundering and terrorism financing, it said in a report published on Sunday. The use of unlicensed money service providers for money laundering increased during the COVID-19 crisis last year, as well as the use of e-commerce to launder money, the report said. Due to limited ability to move funds and goods during the pandemic, illicit actors are turning to e-commerce as a money laundering tool,” the report said. The bank identified fraud risks linked to the pandemic, such as firms or individuals submitting false claims to qualify for government stimulus support. The report comes as the central bank steps up efforts to combat illicit financial flows.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Namchow posts increased net profit of NT$92.11m
Namchow posts increased net profit of NT$92.11mBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterBaking oil manufacturer Namchow Holdings Co Ltd (南僑投資控股) yesterday reported an unaudited net profit of NT$92.11 million (US$3.32 million) for last month, up from the previous month’s NT$57 million, but down from NT$104 million a year earlier. The firm — which also manufactures a wide range of products including frozen dough, noodles, ice cream and dish soap — blamed the annual decline in net profit on it receiving less investment gains from its Shanghai subsidiary, Namchow Food Group (Shanghai) Co (上海南僑食品集團). Earnings per share (EPS) were NT$0.42 last month, while revenue grew 2.24 percent annually to NT$1.66 billion, the company said. Namchow Holdings Co Ltd chairman Alfred Chen displays the company’s products at a bakery exhibition in Taoyuan on April 21. They have increased 3.09 percent so far this year, underperforming the broader market’s 17.27 percent rise over the period.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Flight school grows into tourism sector
Wilson Kao (高健祐), founder and managing director of Apex Flight Academy, the nation’s only flight training school, said that two new Tecnam P2012 Travellers purchased from Italy are scheduled to arrive Taiwan this month or early next month. The company has applied to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to carry passengers on flight tours. After studying their proposal, Apex decided to expand its business to include commercial air tours. Apex is to make public more details of the air tour packages and costs after the airplanes receive certification from CAA, he added. Apex Flight Academy, based in eastern Taitung County, is a flight training organization that began in 2014.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Italy’s Ganna retains time trial title at Road Worlds
Italy’s Ganna retains time trial title at Road WorldsAP, BRUGGE, BelgiumDefending champion Filippo Ganna of Italy on Sunday shattered home fans’ hopes of a 1-2 for their riders and retained the men’s time trial title to secure back-to-back gold medals at the Road World Championships. On the opening day of the week-long event in Belgium, Ganna won with a small margin of just over 5 seconds to beat Wout van Aert for the second year running. Italy’s Filippo Ganna celebrates winning the men’s individual time trial at the Road World Championships in Brugge, Belgium, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFEAs the defending champion, Ganna was the last down the starting ramp. Ganna won in 47 minutes, 47.83 seconds at an impressive average speed of 54kph.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 17:15 UTC
Kaohsiung mayor touts measures to retain local talent
Kaohsiung mayor touts measures to retain local talentBy Wang Jung-hsiang and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerEfforts to improve Kaohsiung’s transportation infrastructure and other measures to retain local talent have drawn significant investment to the city over the past few years, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said on Friday. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai speaks in an interview in Kaohsiung on Friday. Thirteen companies have thus far signed leases, he said, adding that most of them focus on Internet of Things and 5G applications. Citing an example, Chen said that there are four stations of the KMRT metro rail system covering metropolitan Kaohsiung near the CPC plant. The plant is two stops from the city’s high-speed railway station and accessible from the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
CPC agrees to provide carbon neutral LNG to TSMC
CPC agrees to provide carbon neutral LNG to TSMCBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterCPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) for a plan to cooperate over the supply of “carbon neutral” liquefied natural gas (LNG). Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said the agreement between CPC and TSMC to use carbon neutral LNG is a step in the right direction toward Taiwan’s ambitions to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei TimesCPC receives carbon neutral LNG from oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and the company is to use the British Standards Institutions’ PAS 2060 framework to show its results in carbon neutrality and reducing emissions. “As a major importer of LNG, CPC has a duty to keep importing carbon neutral LNG as a part of our energy transition,” CPC president Lee Shun-chin (李順欽) said. “The provision of carbon neutral natural gas products will help domestic manufacturers meet the decarbonization requirements set by Europe and the US.”J.K. Lin (林錦坤), senior vice president of information technology, materials and risk management at TSMC, said the chipmaker requested carbon neutral LNG products at the start of the year.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
New understanding of military victory urged
New understanding of military victory urgedWIDER NOTION NEEDED: Victory means preventing the enemy from imposing its political will, former chief of the general staff admiral Lee Hsi-ming saidBy Wu Su-wei and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe military should redefine its understanding of victory, which under the current circumstances is not so much winning battles, but preventing the enemy from occupying the nation, former chief of the general staff admiral Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) said. In light of the US’ defeat in Afghanistan, the military should understand that victory means preventing the enemy from imposing its political will on the nation, he said. Taiwan should ready itself to counter a Chinese aggression and boost its military strength to deter China from attacking, Lee said. Should China make an attempt to force unification, Taiwan needs a military that is strong enough to fight off the attack, he said. Should Taiwan fail to implement a viable civil defense program, it would have no deterrence against communist aggression, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
Officials condemn China’s ‘cruel’ fruit import ban
China earlier yesterday announced a ban on the importation of the two fruits from today, citing repeated discoveries of Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug. The announcement follows a similar ban on Taiwanese pineapples imposed in February. Wax apples are pictured in Pingtung County in an undated photograph. DPP Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) also called foul, saying that China does not restrict other nations’ fruit imports. Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called on the government to rectify the problem through concrete action and bilateral dialogue.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
Financial holding firms’ exposure to US increases 4%
Financial holding firms’ exposure to US increases 4%By Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe combined exposure of the nation’s financial holding companies to the US last quarter increased 4 percent on a quarterly basis to NT$6.84 trillion (US$246.6 billion), the highest of all overseas markets, due to rising investment in US stocks and bonds, data released on Tuesday last week by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed. In the April-to-June period, the firms’ investment in the US totaled NT$6.08 trillion, up 3 percent from the first quarter, the data showed. Overall, the firms’ combined exposure to the US has risen 89 percent since the second quarter of 2016, when it totaled NT$3.62 trillion, the data showed. CHINA EXPOSUREBy contrast, last quarter, the firms’ exposure to China — the second-largest overseas market — fell for a second consecutive quarter to NT$2.54 trillion, from NT$2.57 trillion in the first quarter. TOP 10The firms’ exposure to the UK (the third-largest overseas market) totaled NT$1.05 trillion, followed by France (No.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC