HSBC to hire 300 to grow wealth management unit
HSBC to hire 300 to grow wealth management unitBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterHSBC Bank Taiwan Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀) is to invest hundreds of millions of dollars per year over the next five years to boost its wealth management business in Taiwan, with plans to hire at least 300 financial planners, the bank said on Thursday. The expansion is part of a plan announced last month by London-headquartered parent company, HSBC Holdings PLC, to invest US$3.5 billion in its wealth management services in Asia, with an aim to become a leading wealth bank. “The local market presents ample opportunity for the wealth management business,” HSBC Taiwan retail banking and wealth management head Linda Yip (葉清玉) told the Taipei Times at a media briefing in Taipei. We encourage financial planners to provide the products that meet customers’ demands and risk appetite, not those with higher commissions. The bank aims to grow its assets under management faster than the market, which would require customers’ trust and the bank offering good financial planning, Yip said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
Developers chill on property market
Developers chill on property marketSADDLED DOWN: Developers and builders have become the nation’s largest debtors, accounting for 25 percent of bank loans, up from 20 percent in 2017, an analyst saidBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterDevelopers and analysts yesterday turned conservative about the local property market’s outlook after the central bank further tightened credit controls and the Ministry of Finance announced plans to stiffen property tax terms. Developers and builders became the nation’s largest debtors in January, accounting for 25 percent of overall bank loans, Sinyi research manager Tseng Ching-der (增進德) said, citing government statistics. The figures show that developers and builders acquired land and launched new projects during the soft period from 2015 to 2017, when they made up 20 percent of the nation’s outstanding loans, Tseng said. The rapid loan growth reflected an upturn in the property market, and alerted regulators about the need to step in to prevent a bubble, Tseng said. Legislators are reviewing property tax bills that might impose property levies of 45 percent on houses resold within five years of their purchase from two years to curb short-term speculation.
Source:Taipei Times
March 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
Business travel from China to restart
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san speaks at a news conference at the council in Taipei yesterday. Underlining his intent, Chiu announced an end to a ban on Chinese business travelers after more than a year of COVID-19 travel restrictions. Discussions are continuing on whether to resume travel for Chinese with family in Taiwan, as well as on border control adjustments, he said. However, as the center does not yet list China as a medium-low or low-risk region, Chinese business travelers are not eligible for shortened quarantines, CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said. Aside from business travelers, Chinese nationals with Taiwanese residency, as well as their spouses and children, can enter Taiwan, in addition to students, and those with imperative family or health reasons.
Source:Taipei Times
March 18, 2021 16:25 UTC
‘Travel bubble’ with Singapore might be next: minister
‘Travel bubble’ with Singapore might be next: ministerBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTaiwan might form a “travel bubble” with Singapore after reaching a similar deal with Palau, although the government has not seen a proposal from the Singaporean government, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday. On Wednesday, the center announced that group tours would begin on April 1 as part of a “travel bubble” arrangement with Palau. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung speaks at a meeting of the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. However, Singapore on Dec. 18 last year eased travel restrictions on Taiwanese, allowing them to enter the country without being vaccinated if they provide an air travel pass, Chen said. “We are still studying relevant issues, but we have not received any proposal from them yet.”The CECC approved the Palau “travel bubble” swiftly, because the Micronesian nation has no confirmed COVID-19 cases, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 18, 2021 16:18 UTC
Prosecutors search Kaohsiung council speaker’s office
Prosecutors search Kaohsiung council speaker’s officeBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterInvestigators yesterday searched the home and office of Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Zeng Li-yan (曾麗燕) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Investigators seized Zeng’s office registry and accounting documents from the past 10 years to examine payments to office assistants. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Zeng Li-yan is pictured in an undated photograph in Kaohsiung. Photo: Ko You-hao, Taipei TimesZeng, 68, and her assistants were summoned for questioning at the the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office. In 2009, 20 Kaohsiung councilors were indicted on charges of corruption and forgery for similar offenses.
Source:Taipei Times
March 18, 2021 16:05 UTC
Fourth Nuclear Plant activation ‘no option’: Tsai
Fourth Nuclear Plant activation ‘no option’: TsaiBy Yang Chun-hui and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, staff writer, with CNAPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday slammed a referendum to activate the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, citing the lack of a long-term storage facility for spent fuel rods. Concerns over safety and cost of nuclear energy make operating the plant not viable, Tsai said. Taiwan has four nuclear power plants. The Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant, the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant and the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant are in New Taipei City, while the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant is in Pingtung County. We cannot make use of nuclear power if we do not have facilities for radioactive waste,” Hou said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 18, 2021 16:05 UTC
Couples flock to Changhua’s Great Buddha
Tourists visit the Great Buddha in Changhua County on Sunday. A couple in traditional Indonesian wedding clothes have photographs taken with the Great Buddha in Changhua County on Sunday. The newlyweds made their way from the archway near the visitors’ center to Nine Dragon Pond, stopping to take photos and receive good wishes from passersby, the Great Buddha omnipresent behind them. To them, the Great Buddha represents Changhua, so they decided it would be the perfect spot to take wedding photos, they added. “So many people come to take wedding photos,” Baguashan Great Buddha Scenic Association chairman Chang Shih-liang (張世良) said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 18, 2021 16:05 UTC
KMT slams DPP policy fora as ‘internal propaganda’
KMT slams DPP policy fora as ‘internal propaganda’By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterPlans by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to hold a series of nationwide forums on government policies was “internal propaganda” to rally DPP supporters against a referendum on the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off Taoyuan, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Pan and his alliance yesterday delivered more than 700,000 signatures supporting the referendum proposal to the Central Election Commission. Wang made the remark in response to a statement by Tsai at a DPP meeting on local politics in Taipei. “If President Tsai does not want to unite Taiwan, she should not tear Taiwan apart,” the KMT said. Tsai was only catering to the DPP’s interests, the KMT said, adding that she should stop accusing it of being a “red party” to distract from her policy being challenged in several referendums.
Source:Taipei Times
March 18, 2021 16:05 UTC
Next Bank general manager steps down
Next Bank general manager steps downBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterNext Bank (將來銀行) general manager Liu I-cheng (劉奕成) unexpectedly resigned yesterday, casting a shadow over the Web-only bank, which has yet to obtain an operating license from the nation’s regulator. “Liu served as chief executive officer of the preparations office of Next Bank in November 2018 and he has been the bank’s general manager since January last year. From left, Next Bank deputy general manager Jacob Mei, chairman Chung Fu-kuei and general manager Liu I-cheng pose for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei on Aug. 1, 2019. Prior to joining Next Bank, Liu served as head of the preparations office of Line Bank. The commission yesterday said that it expected Next Bank to appoint a new general manager soon and that it would review the qualifications of the new general manager.
Source:Taipei Times
March 18, 2021 16:00 UTC
MOEA mulls curbing water use by 15%
As of 5pm yesterday, the reservoir, which provides water for the Hsinchu Science Park, was at 9.9 percent of capacity, a record low. Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times“Our goal is to preserve the maximum amount of water without affecting industrial production,” Wang said. The ministry also plans to increase the supply of water from alternative sources to the affected area, including the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), Wang said. As of 5pm yesterday, the Baoshan Second Reservoir (寶二水庫), which supplies water to the Hsinchu Science Park, had fallen to 9.9 percent of capacity, a record low. “We pray to the skies for rain, but the government must drill emergency wells and everybody must conserve water.”
Source:Taipei Times
March 18, 2021 16:00 UTC
Seeking capacity, E Ink to double capital spending
Seeking capacity, E Ink to double capital spendingBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterE Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技), the world’s sole supplier of e-paper displays, yesterday said that it plans to double its capital expenditure to NT$1.6 billion (US$56.53 million) to expand capacity and catch up with customer demand. Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei TimesThe Hsinchu-based company last year spent between NT$750 million and NT$800 million on new facilities and manufacturing equipment. For the whole of this year, we can grow our revenue,” company chief financial officer Lloyd Chen (陳樂群) told a virtual investors’ conference yesterday. However, revenue growth is contingent on the speed of the company’s capacity expansion and the availability of key components, such as display drive ICs, Chen said. Last year’s operating profit approached royalty income (NT$1.89 billion), indicating that E Ink no longer needs to depend on royalties for growth.
Source:Taipei Times
March 18, 2021 16:00 UTC
Dozens change name to ‘salmon’
Dozens change name to ‘salmon’By Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with CNAHousehold registration offices nationwide have since Tuesday been flooded with people applying to change their name to “salmon” (guiyu, 鮭魚), after Japanese sushi restaurant chain Akindo Sushiro promised free meals for anyone with the name. Twenty-eight people had claimed free meals as of 3pm yesterday, while at least 1,000 people had participated in the promotion, Akindo Sushiro said. A student surnamed Lee, bottom, applies to change her name to Lee Yuwang Tachan Kuiyuwang — “Lee Fish King Challenges Salmon King” — in Kaohsiung yesterday. In Taichung, a college student surnamed Kuo (郭) changed her name to Kuo “Salmon Rice Bowl” (郭鮭魚丼飯) to treat her friends, but told reporters that she plans to change it back tomorrow. “Each person has three chances to change their name,” the ministry wrote on Facebook.
Source:Taipei Times
March 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Sports-betting ads need regulation: DPP lawmaker
Although gambling is forbidden in Taiwan, online platforms such as YouTube are allowed to air commercials that encourage people to bet on sports games, Lin said. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chun-hsien speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Jan. 7. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times“These commercials are designed to attract people to join sports-betting clubs. Such commercials have become a major source of consumer complaints, but the government has not done anything about it, he said. The commission had drafted a digital communications act, which could have been used to deal with problematic content on online platforms, Lin said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Sino Horizon to invest in Taiwan development sites
Sino Horizon to invest in Taiwan development sitesBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterSino Horizon Holdings Ltd (鼎固開發) on Tuesday said that it has put together a team to scout suitable properties for development in Taiwan. Sino Horizon is mainly engaged in developing and managing commercial and residential properties in Shanghai, Chongqing and other first-tier cities in China. Sino Horizon Holdings Ltd on Tuesday said that it has put together a team to scout suitable properties for development in Taiwan. Sino Horizon said that it prefers to buy idle land that could be turned into affordable residential complexes. Sino Horizon said it has proposed distributing a cash dividend of NT$1.2 per share, suggesting a payout ratio of 176.47 percent.
Source:Taipei Times
March 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Egis outlook downbeat due to poor smartphone sales
Egis outlook downbeat due to poor smartphone salesBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterFingerprint sensor supplier Egis Technology Inc (神盾) expects revenue this quarter to continue declining quarter-on-quarter, as stagnant smartphone sales are still curbing demand for chips, a company executive said yesterday. “The [COVID-19] pandemic has significantly affected the company,” Egis chief financial officer George Chang (張家麒) told a videoconference. To regain revenue growth, Egis is expanding its product portfolio to supply versatile chips used in smartphones, including lower-priced chips, Chang said. Egis hopes to capture early business opportunities from Android smartphone makers, who are likely to follow Apple Inc in using TOF technology. Egis is also developing new chips used in “true wireless” earphones, Lo said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 17, 2021 15:56 UTC