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.
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted