Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) posted a record high net income of NT$60.19 billion (US$1.88 billion) for last year, making it the most profitable financial services provider in Taiwan for the sixth consecutive year.
Net profit soared 56.29 percent from NT$35.51 billion in 2013, with its earnings per share (EPS) last year standing at NT$5.88, Fubon Financial said in a statement.
Fubon Financial attributed last year’s strong profitability to robust growth in its life insurance and banking subsidiaries.
Regular income and capital gains, including cash dividends and interest income underpinned Fubon Life Insurance Co’s (富邦人壽) earnings last year, which totaled NT$35.47 billion for the year, the statement said.
“Despite Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) posting a net loss of NT$1.22 billion last month ... the bank still posted net income of NT$18 billion for the whole of last year,” the statement added.
Under the government’s new provision on house loans, Fubon Commercial Bank drew an additional NT$1.6 billion in provisions last month.
The government has asked Taiwanese banks to allocate 1.5 percent of their total housing loans as provisions for bad debts by the end of next year, with various banks having decided to draw the amount at one time in advance at the end of last year.
The rule became a drag to the nation’s major financial holding companies last year in terms of profitability.
Overall, Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), the nation’s top financial services provider by assets, posted NT$49.8 billion in net profit, or NT$3.94 per share, last year setting a record high.
CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) reported NT$40.5 billion, or EPS of NT$2.66, for last year in net profit.
Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) saw its profitability show a significant decline last year compared with 2013, due to a one-time asset loss of NT$14.78 billion after losing its management of Chang Hwa Bank (彰化銀行) last month.
After recognizing the losses, Taishin Financial posted NT$1.57 billion, or NT$0.08 per share, in net profit last year, making it the financial holding company in Taiwan that generated the lowest net profit.
Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) said net income reached NT$30.2 billion, or EPS of NT$2.43, last year, while Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控) posted a net profit of NT$16.54 billion, or EPS of NT$1.63.
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],”
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