■ Current-account surplus down
The nation's current-account surplus shrank in the third quarter as local companies paid more dividends to overseas investors and travel spending increased, the central bank said in a statement. The surplus narrowed to US$879 million from US$5.33 billion a year earlier and a revised US$1.75 billion in the second quarter, the Central Bank of China said in the statement. The surplus on the income account, which includes dividend payments, narrowed to US$862 million from US$2.43 billion a year earlier. The deficit on the services account, which includes travel spending, widened to US$2.95 billion from US$1.21 billion. The financial account, which measures investment flows, showed a deficit of US$2.51 billion after a US$6.31 billion deficit in the same period of last year, it said. Direct investment showed a net outflow of US$300 million and portfolio investment had a net outflow of US$6.32 billion.
■ UBS names new head
UBS Wealth Management Taiwan announced yesterday the appointment of Martine Tseng (曾淑芬) as its new head of products and services division. Tseng will lead the transaction products team and be responsible for enhancing and customizing products for local clients, the company said in a statement. "We are confident in the growth potential of Taiwan's wealth management market and believe Tseng will bring further momentum to our business here," said Dennis Chen (陳允懋), the bank's head. Tseng, who has more than 18 years' experience in financial services, moves across from ABN AMRO Asset Management. She has also worked for Citibank and American Express in Taiwan.
■ Land Bank eyes rival
The state-controlled Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) may acquire Taiwan Business Bank (台企銀) to create Taiwan's largest lender, the Commercial Times reported. Land Bank will proceed with a merger if ordered to by the Ministry of Finance, the Taipei-based newspaper said, citing Land Bank chairman Tsai Jer-shyong (蔡哲雄).
Land Bank is the third-largest bank by assets, while Taiwan Business Bank is ninth. In a separate report quoting Tsai, the paper said more than five foreign insurance companies are interested in forging alliances with Land Bank. Taiwan is encouraging mergers among its almost 50 lenders so that they can compete with global banks such as Citigroup Inc and HSBC Holdings Plc.
■ China investment down 13%
Taiwan approved 1,059 applications for China-bound investment worth some US$4.72 billion in the 10 months to October, down 13 percent from a year earlier, the Investment Commission (投審會) said yesterday. During the same period, the commission approved 908 inbound investment applications worth US$2.87 billion, down 2.58 percent. Last month alone, 94 China-bound investment applications worth US$527 million were approved, compared with US$600 million in September. It said it approved 105 inbound investment applications last month worth US$339 million, up from US$210 million in September.
■ NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar advanced to NT$33.617 against the greenback from NT$33.631 on Friday, Taipei Forex Inc reported. "Foreign capital inflow appears to support the Taiwan dollar," said Hideki Hayashi, a strategist at Shinko Securities Co. "Corporate earnings, especially IT-related companies, are looking quite stable and good, which encourages foreign investors to put money into Taiwan. The inflow would probably continue for a while."
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