After being repeatedly tapped for the post of top financial regulator, Sean Chen (陳冲) will be sworn in as chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) today, embarking on a journey that will attempt to lead the domestic financial sector away from the financial storm, analysts said yesterday.
“Chen is a clear-headed and smart banker. There is nobody more suitable to lead the commission,” said Lin Tien (林田), president of Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), which Chen chaired for more than two years starting in July 2004.
Lin is referred to as an “idea king” for his innovative policies that facilitated Taiwan Cooperative’s initial public offering in Taiwan in 2006 and a more than 10-fold increase in earnings at the bank.
The 59-year-old Chen is renowned for his fable-telling commentaries and ideas, which he never seems to run out of.
Just two weeks ago, Chen, then chairman of publicly traded SinoPac Financial Holding Co (永豐金控), came up with the idea of incorporating a plastic card in the government’s consumption voucher scheme, an idea that the Cabinet declined to adopt.
LIKE A WOLF
His book, titled French Wolf and Owl published early last year to celebrate his pearl wedding, also details his financial thinking and perspectives.
In it, he said the country should be led by real leaders, like the wolf Grisdos in the French fable. He or she should walk the talk rather than be like Old Owl, who only talks.
Many expect that after his appointment Chen will extend his forward-looking vision to help make the financial sector more competitive globally.
“He is very aggressive and knows how to delegate to make sure the ship is on course,” said Su Song-chin (蘇松欽), former president of Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp, where Chen was chair from 2002 to 2004.
Su said that Chen played an important role in establishing policies to facilitate the dual listing of overseas Taiwanese companies on the TAIEX as well as the issuance of Taiwan Depositary Receipts.
Chen also initiated the exchange-traded funds in the local market to bolster the nation’s capital market, Su said.
His legal background will also help him with policymaking, as the job involves complex legal matters, Su said.
As a law student, Chen began his three-decade career in government at the International Bank of Taipei (台北商銀) and Farmers Bank of China (農民銀行) in 1975.
In 1989, he was promoted to secretary-general of the Ministry of Finance’s legal department before moving on to head the ministry’s insurance and banking bureaus, and eventually the deputy minister’s post.
DISADVANTAGES
Many had speculated that Chen’s lack of political connections had put him at a disadvantage under the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) governments.
But Kenneth Lin (林向愷), a professor of economics at National Taiwan University, said the fact that Chen earned top positions, such as the chairmanship of TWSE and Taiwan Cooperative in 2002 and 2004 under the DPP government, showed that he was a polished networker.
Lin said he expected Chen, who has a low-key, professional image, to prioritize market liberalization and discipline after taking office.
Lin said Chen would have to ease concerns over possible conflicts of interest arising from his past appointments in the private sector by restoring order in the market.
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
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last