The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC, 中國工商銀行) — the world’s biggest bank, with market capitalization of US$268 billion — has no interest in Taiwan’s market, which has a narrow net interest margin, but is poised to join forces with Taiwanese peers to take on greater business opportunities throughout Asia, ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing (姜建清) told a forum in Taipei yesterday.
“We should cooperate to jointly tap into the financial market in Asia,” he said during a keynote speech.
However, Jiang yesterday denied media speculation that his bank struck a deal with Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) — the nation’s biggest financial services provider — to take up a 50 percent stake in Cathay Financial’s Shanghai-based life insurance arm during a visit to the Taipei-based company’s chairman Tsai Hung-tu (蔡宏圖) on Monday.
“That’s not the case,” Jiang told reporters before rushing out of yesterday’s forum.
The Chinese-language Commercial Times yesterday reported that ICBC plans to take over the 50 percent stake from Beijing’s state-run China Eastern Airlines Corp (東方航空), which is the other stakeholder in Cathay Financial’s Shanghai-based life insurance joint venture, for 400 million yuan (US$58.5 million).
The partnership is pending final approval from the Chinese bank’s board and shareholders as well as regulatory approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the report said.
Should the partnership be secured, Cathay Financial will benefit from ICBC’s outlets, boosting life insurance sales in the Chinese market, it said. Meanwhile, Charles Lo (羅聯福), chairman of Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中信銀), a subsidiary of Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控), yesterday told reporters that his bank prefers to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in China once Taiwanese banks are allowed to enter the Chinese market.
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Bank of America Corp nearly doubled its forecast for the nation’s economic growth this year, adding to a slew of upgrades even after a rip-roaring last year propelled by demand for artificial intelligence (AI). The firm lifted its projection to 8 percent from 4.5 percent on “relentless global demand” for the hardware that Taiwanese companies make, according to a note dated yesterday by analysts including Xiaoqing Pi (皮曉青). Taiwan’s GDP expanded 8.63 percent last year, the fastest pace since 2010. The increase “reflects our sustained optimism over Taiwan’s technology driven expansion and is reinforced by several recent developments,” including a more stable currency,
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