Cathay Financial Holdings Co (國泰金控) topped all 14 local financial holding companies in operational efficiency this year, an annual survey conducted by the Taiwan Financial Management Association and the Chinese-language weekly Business Today (今周刊) magazine showed.
Thanks to the strong fundamentals of subsidiary Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽), Cathay Financial was able to retain its No. 1 ranking for the third consecutive year despite pressures from the US subprime mortgage crisis.
“The strengthening of corporate governance is very important especially amid a changing external environment,” Lee Chang-ken (李長庚), chief strategy officer at Cathay Financial, said yesterday.
Financial holding companies that have both banking and insurance entities again commanded the top three spots, with Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) placing second and third respectively, the report showed.
State-controlled financial holdings focusing on corporate finance, such as First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) and Hua Nan Financial Holding Co (華南金控), moved up one and five spots to fourth and fifth places respectively. Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) maintained its No. 6 ranking.
First Financial rose in ranking from No. 10 in 2006 to No. 4 this year, because of the company’s organizational reform.
“This year’s results showed that the performance of government-controlled financial holding companies has become better compared with consumer-oriented holding companies such as Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) and E. Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控),” Peng Jin-lung (彭金隆), chair of the risk management and insurance department at Shih Chien University, said yesterday.
E. Sun Financial Holding, which ranked No. 4 in 2006, fell to No. 7 last year and No. 8 this year.
Andy Liang (梁永煌), president of Business Today magazine, said the financial storms in recent years had made it increasing difficult for smaller financial holding companies to retain their positions in the market.
This year’s results showed that the performance of government-controlled financial holding companies has become better compared with consumer-oriented holding companies such as Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) and E. Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控),” Peng Jin-lung (彭金隆), chair of the risk management and insurance department at Shih Chien University, said yesterday.
E. Sun Financial Holding, which ranked No. 4 in 2006, fell to No. 7 last year and No. 8 this year.
Andy Liang (梁永煌), president of Business Today magazine, said the financial storms in recent years had made it increasing difficult for smaller financial holding companies to retain their positions in the market.
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
DOLLAR SIGNS: The central bank rejected claims that the NT dollar had appreciated 10 percentage points more than the yen or the won against the greenback The New Taiwan dollar yesterday fell for a sixth day to its weakest level in three months, driven by equity-related outflows and reactions to an economics official’s exchange rate remarks. The NT dollar slid NT$0.197, or 0.65 percent, to close at NT$30.505 per US dollar, central bank data showed. The local currency has depreciated 1.97 percent so far this month, ranking as the weakest performer among Asian currencies. Dealers attributed the retreat to foreign investors wiring capital gains and dividends abroad after taking profit in local shares. They also pointed to reports that Washington might consider taking equity stakes in chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor
A German company is putting used electric vehicle batteries to new use by stacking them into fridge-size units that homes and businesses can use to store their excess solar and wind energy. This week, the company Voltfang — which means “catching volts” — opened its first industrial site in Aachen, Germany, near the Belgian and Dutch borders. With about 100 staff, Voltfang says it is the biggest facility of its kind in Europe in the budding sector of refurbishing lithium-ion batteries. Its CEO David Oudsandji hopes it would help Europe’s biggest economy ween itself off fossil fuels and increasingly rely on climate-friendly renewables. While
RSS