Line Bank (連線商業銀行) would fight for a license to launch a virtual bank in Taiwan by introducing innovative services, such as personal credit scores and robo-advisers, preparation office chief executive officer Morris Huang (黃以孟) said yesterday.
Line Bank, a planned Web-only bank initiated by Line Financial Taiwan Corp (台灣連線金融科技), is competing for the nation’s two licenses against another two teams led by Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) and Waterland Financial Holdings Co (國票金控).
It is very difficult for young people, especially new graduates, to take loans from conventional banks, as they have not had time to build a good credit score, so Line Bank would establish its own model to establish users’ credit scores, Huang said.
Photo courtesy of Line Taiwan Ltd
“It is a sore point for young consumers, so we will take the initiative by inviting them to use our model,” Huang said.
However, the model could not replace the Joint Credit Information Center’s (JCIC, 金融聯合徵信中心) model, which provides card issuers with detailed information on an applicant’s credit history and ability to repay loans, and it would only be used for Line Bank, Huang told the Taipei Times.
The model would score people differently compared with the JCIC model, which is based on an applicant’s payment and borrowing record, Huang said, adding that he could not reveal anything more.
“Line, which enables users to communicate, shop, play games and watch television, is a lifestyle platform, but we want to build a financial platform,” Huang said.
Line Bank also plans to introduce robo-advisers to help clients make investment decisions, he said, adding that the company plans to use artificial intelligence to build its virtual financial consultants.
The company hopes the government will set up rules and a framework for the planned Web-only banks as early as possible, to allow it to build a platform for its clients to see and manage their financial assets, Huang said.
If Line Bank wins the license, it would take deposits and provide loans, as well as issue debit cards, Huang said.
“Issuing credit cards is our goal, but we will not do it at first,” he said.
Line Bank aims to become Taiwan’s first financial unicorn, which means that its valuation would be above US$1 billion, the firm said.
Meanwhile, Line Taiwan Ltd (台灣連線) yesterday said that it would help the government fight false news reports and misinformation by setting up a special channel on its Line app.
To clarify online rumors, Line would cooperate with the Executive Yuan and four fact-checking agencies, general manager Roger Chen (陳立人) said, adding that users could also ask questions on the app.
The company plans to launch the new service in the second quarter of this year, he said.
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
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”