The nation posted a balance of payments (BOP) surplus of US$6.24 billion for last year, its lowest level since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in 2008, as global economic uncertainties led to substantial net outflow of the financial account, the central bank said yesterday.
The balance of payments — including current, financial and capital accounts — summarizes a net amount of money paid or received by a country during a certain period.
The BOP surplus for last year declined 84.47 percent from US$40.17 billion recorded a year earlier, the central bank said in a report.
“The financial account exhibited a net outflow of US$31.62 billion for last year, its second-highest level in history, further impacting full-year balance of payments surplus,” Chen E-dawn (陳一端), deputy chief of the central bank’s economic research department, told a press conference.
The eurozone debt crisis led to uncertainties among foreign investors in the second half of last year, resulting in an accelerated outflow of capital.
This meant that the financial account saw a net outflow of US$12.28 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, with the sector representing other bank investments — excluding securities and derivatives — experiencing a net outflow of US$8.54 billion. This figure was the third-highest level ever, attributed mainly to short-term bank lending to overseas affiliates and foreign banks, Chen said.
For the current account, it registered a surplus of US$41.27 billion for last year, with fourth-quarter surplus totaling US$12.10 billion, the central bank said.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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