Cathay Financial Holding Co (
China Credit Information Service Ltd (CCIS,
"Also, their combined after-tax profits broke through the NT$1 trillion level for the first time to total NT$1.047 trillion in 2006 even though half of the conglomerates saw a decline in profit growth," Liu told a press briefing.
Of the top 10 companies ranked by asset value, nine were financial service providers, led by Cathay Financial's NT$3.45 trillion. Second was Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) with NT$2.38 trillion in assets, followed by Taishin Financial Holding Co's (台新金控) NT$2.33 trillion, Mega Financial Holding Co's (兆豐金控) NT$2.24 trillion and Chinatrust Financial Holding Co's (中信金控) NT$2.18 trillion.
The largest by asset value from outside the financial sector was Formosa Plastics, which ranked sixth, with NT$2.13 trillion in assets. Its annual sales revenues of NT$1.61 trillion, however, ranked No. 1 in that category.
Formosa Plastics also had the highest net worth, at NT$1.28 trillion, and the biggest annual after-tax profit of NT$161 billion last year.
In the ranking of companies that had the highest net profitability, China Development was top with a 71 percent profit ratio, followed by memory chipmaker Mosel Vitelic Inc's (茂矽) 63 percent and mobile handset component maker Largan Precision Co's (大立光電) 53 percent.
In the high-tech sector, Hon Hai Precision Industrial Co (
"Although it suffered great losses [from the merger], BenQ did pretty well because of its subsidiary AU Optronics Corp's (友達光電) speedy expansion," Liu said.
Hon Hai outperformed Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) last year and topped the list for revenues gained in China, at NT$517 billion, after China-bound investment by Taiwanese firms saw record growth in capital injection and net profits last year amid a slight decline in the growth of assets, revenues and newly opened subsidiaries compared with previous years.
"China is a must-go market for Taiwanese businesses, in particular for local retailers looking to boost growth," Liu said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
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