Taiwan Financial Holding Co (台灣金控), the nation’s largest financial services provider by assets, yesterday reported a better-than-expected NT$8.536 billion (US$266.8 million) net profit for last year, or 16 percent growth year-on-year, a company executive said.
The result was 46 percent more than the state-owned company had budgeted in its legislative report, chairwoman Susan Chang (張秀蓮) told a media briefing.
If it were not for the NT$8.9 billion that its subsidiary, Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), paid out to support the government’s plan to provide a fixed 18 percent interest rate on civil servant pension accounts, the financial services provider would have reported NT$17.4 billion in net profit last year — the second-highest profits among the nation’s 15 financial holding companies, Chang said.
She also promised to do better this year, although the financial institution’s legislative report, compiled a year ago, only budgets for NT$6 billion in pre-tax profit for this year.
“We have internally set a higher goal,” Chang said, refusing to elaborate.
Last year, the firm’s banking arm contributed almost NT$8 billion, or 93 percent of the profit, while its life insurance and securities brokerage arms contributed NT$475 million, or 5 percent, and NT$153 million, or 2 percent, respectively.
Pending legislative approval, the company plans to boost its working capital from NT$45 billion to NT$70 billion, Chang said, adding that the company doesn’t rule out the possibility of expanding through acquisitions if synergies could be created or independent board members could be introduced from abroad.
The company also plans to launch a liaison office in Shanghai by the end of this month after the banking regulator in China gave it the go-ahead last month, she said.
The firm’s insurance arm posted NT$43.5 billion in premium income last year, including NT$31.12 billion in first-year premiums — the nation’s seventh-largest behind leaders Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽), Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽) and Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽).
Chang Kuo-ching (張國欽), chairman of BankTaiwan Life Insurance Co (台銀人壽), yesterday vowed to report the nation’s fifth-largest first-year premiums figure within the next three to five years.
He said the life insurer plans to boost its working capital from NT$7 billion to NT$11 billion, pending legislative approval.
Boasting better-than-expected investment returns — NT$1.8 billion in profit from share investments — the life insurer’s vice president, Hsieh Fu-deng (謝福燈), said the company would invest between NT$10 billion and NT$20 billion in Taipei-based commercial office space, including property in Neihu District (內湖), in the near future.
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