The domestic banking sector’s bad-loan ratio dropped to a new low of 0.46 percent at the end of last month, from 0.48 percent one month earlier, the Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement yesterday.
Of the 37 domestic lenders, 36 had a non-performing loan ratio below the 2 percent mark, the commission said in the statement.
The bad-loan ratio for Cosmos Bank Taiwan (萬泰銀行) remained relatively high at 5.65 percent. The ratio was attributed to a bad loan of NT$1.6 billion (US$55.11 million) to the cash-strapped Prince Motor Group (太子汽車) as part of its secured lending valued at NT$5.6 billion.
Prince Motor is the local sales agent of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp. The company’s chairman, Hsu Sheng-fa (許勝發), is also the founder and former chairman of Cosmos Bank, but relinquished control after selling a combined 80 percent stake in 2007.
As of July 31, the domestic banking sector’s bad loans totaled NT$96.9 billion, down NT$2.6 billion from a month earlier. Outstanding loans amounted to NT$20.87 trillion last month, up NT$164.7 billion from a month earlier, the commission’s data showed.
In related news, Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) yesterday restated its first-half net income as NT$15.16 billion, compared with NT$17.42 billion it announced on Aug. 11.
The company said in an e-mailed statement that the discrepancy of NT$2.26 billion was because of lower retained earnings at its life insurance subsidiary, Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), as demanded by the commission.
Shares in Taiwan closed at a new high yesterday, the first trading day of the new year, as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) continued to break records amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 386.21 points, or 1.33 percent, at 29,349.81, with turnover totaling NT$648.844 billion (US$20.65 billion). “Judging from a stronger Taiwan dollar against the US dollar, I think foreign institutional investors returned from the holidays and brought funds into the local market,” Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺) said. “Foreign investors just rebuilt their positions with TSMC as their top target,
H200 CHIPS: A source said that Nvidia has asked the Taiwanese company to begin production of additional chips and work is expected to start in the second quarter Nvidia Corp is scrambling to meet demand for its H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Chinese technology companies and has approached contract manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to ramp up production, sources said. Chinese technology companies have placed orders for more than 2 million H200 chips for this year, while Nvidia holds just 700,000 units in stock, two of the people said. The exact additional volume Nvidia intends to order from TSMC remains unclear, they said. A third source said that Nvidia has asked TSMC to begin production of the additional chips and work is expected to start in the second
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
Garment maker Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽) yesterday reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue of NT$7.93 billion (US$251.44 million), down 9.48 percent from NT$8.76 billion a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, revenue fell 10.83 percent from NT$8.89 billion, company data showed. The figure was also lower than market expectations of NT$8.05 billion, according to data compiled by Yuanta Securities Investment and Consulting Co (元大投顧), which had projected NT$8.22 billion. Makalot’s revenue this quarter would likely increase by a mid-teens percentage as the industry is entering its high season, Yuanta said. Overall, Makalot’s revenue last year totaled NT$34.43 billion, down 3.08 percent from its record NT$35.52
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