Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評) yesterday downgraded private lender Ta Chong Bank's (大眾銀行) long-term outlook rating from positive to stable because of its slowing progress in the improvement of its financial profile, including profitability and capitalization.
The local arm of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services also affirmed its "twA-" long-term and "twA-2" short-term counterparty credit ratings on the bank, it said in a press release yesterday.
Increases in the bank's credit costs associated with its unsecured consumer lending business are partly responsible for the slowdown, it said.
The ratings for Ta Chong Bank, the nation's fourth-largest cash card issuer, reflect its balanced business profile and adequate capitalization. Moderating factors include its relatively small, albeit growing, market position, the report said.
The bank's earnings growth momentum is likely to slow down, though its pre-provision earnings profile should remain relatively diversified and adequate.
"Over the medium term, the bank may face challenges to raise profit margins under conditions of excessive market liquidity and competition," Taiwan Ratings said.
However, the rating agency expects the bank's growing treasury marketing unit, factoring and foreign exchange and wealth management to provide fee income expansion to support its pre-provision profits.
As a small to midsize commercial bank in Taiwan, Ta Chong Bank commanded a 1.6 percent market share of system-wide assets as of the end of last year, up from 1.4 percent a year earlier.
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
RSS