Survey results released on Saturday showed that almost half of Taiwanese investors are planning to raise their holdings in Chinese yuan, as the currency gains popularity among investors.
Citibank Taiwan Ltd (台灣花旗), which conducted the survey, said that among the 536 respondents — who were aged 18 or older and had bank accounts or credit cards — 48 percent expressed willingness to buy into the yuan to expand their investment portfolios over the next six months.
Citibank Taiwan consumer banking business manager Yunny Lee (李芸) said that almost half of the respondents would like to hold more yuan, as they anticipate that the currency is about to appreciate against the US dollar.
As of the end of January, yuan-denominated deposits received by banks operating in Taiwan totaled 310.2 billion yuan (US$49.5 billion), up 7.93 billion yuan from December last year, according to statistics compiled by the central bank.
The survey found that 22 percent of respondents said they have included the Chinese currency in their asset portfolios, in the form of either bank deposits or yuan-denominated mutual funds.
Lee said that increasing numbers of Taiwanese want to boost their deposits in a bid to allow them to have a comfortable retirement by raising their yuan holdings.
While the survey demonstrates optimism over a potential uptrend of the yuan’s value in the future, DBS Bank Taiwan (星展銀行) expects the Chinese currency to trend lower this year as the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) continues to ease its monetary policy to boost China’s economy.
Starting on March 1, the PBOC lowered one-year deposit and lending rates by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent and 5.35 percent respectively. It was the second rate cut by the Chinese central bank in three months.
DBS Bank said the yuan is likely to fall to 6.38 yuan against the US dollar by the end of this year.
On Friday, the yuan traded at about 6.26 against the greenback.
DBS said that although the yuan could fall in the short term, people are advised to hold on to the Chinese currency, since the unit could benefit from the relatively high interest rates in China, compared with low rates in the US.
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