Taiwan’s three largest financial holding firms all posted net profits last month on improving business, although two reported slower earning ability from a month earlier, company data showed yesterday.
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), the nation’s largest by assets, reported NT$1.41 billion (US$46.1 million) in net income last month, lifting accumulated net profits to NT$6.94 billion for the first 11 months, or NT$0.68 in earnings per share, the company said in a statement.
The figures marked 7.63 percent growth from a month earlier, because the banking arm, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行), generated NT$800 million in net profit amid improving fee income and passbook deposits, the company said.
The insurance subsidiary Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) contributed a net profit of NT$620 million after the firm focused more on traditional products, the company said.
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), the nation’s second--largest and most profitable financial holding firm, reported NT$1.35 billion in net income last month, slowing from NT$1.83 billion a month earlier, because of higher reserve charges for its life insurance unit Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), the company said on its Web site.
Cumulative net profits reached NT$23.28 billion as of last month, translating into 24.08 percent growth from a year earlier and NT$2.73 earnings per share, the company said.
The banking subsidiary Taipei Fubon Bank (台北富邦銀行) posted NT$610 million in net income last month and booked a NT$54 million provision cost, indicating sound asset quality, the company said.
Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控), the third-largest financial holding form, saw NT$1.28 billion in net income last month, down 23.37 percent from October, because of bad loan write-offs worth NT$285 million by its US banking subsidiary, the company said in a statement.
For the first 11 months, net profits totaled NT$13.49 billion, or NT$1.27 earnings per share, the company said.
ADVANCED: Previously, Taiwanese chip companies were restricted from building overseas fabs with technology less than two generations behind domestic factories Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), a major chip supplier to Nvidia Corp, would no longer be restricted from investing in next-generation 2-nanometer chip production in the US, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. However, the ministry added that the world’s biggest contract chipmaker would not be making any reckless decisions, given the weight of its up to US$30 billion investment. To safeguard Taiwan’s chip technology advantages, the government has barred local chipmakers from making chips using more advanced technologies at their overseas factories, in China particularly. Chipmakers were previously only allowed to produce chips using less advanced technologies, specifically
The New Taiwan dollar is on the verge of overtaking the yuan as Asia’s best carry-trade target given its lower risk of interest-rate and currency volatility. A strategy of borrowing the New Taiwan dollar to invest in higher-yielding alternatives has generated the second-highest return over the past month among Asian currencies behind the yuan, based on the Sharpe ratio that measures risk-adjusted relative returns. The New Taiwan dollar may soon replace its Chinese peer as the region’s favored carry trade tool, analysts say, citing Beijing’s efforts to support the yuan that can create wild swings in borrowing costs. In contrast,
VERTICAL INTEGRATION: The US fabless company’s acquisition of the data center manufacturer would not affect market competition, the Fair Trade Commission said The Fair Trade Commission has approved Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s (AMD) bid to fully acquire ZT International Group Inc for US$4.9 billion, saying it would not hamper market competition. As AMD is a fabless company that designs central processing units (CPUs) used in consumer electronics and servers, while ZT is a data center manufacturer, the vertical integration would not affect market competition, the commission said in a statement yesterday. ZT counts hyperscalers such as Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc and Google among its major clients and plays a minor role in deciding the specifications of data centers, given the strong bargaining power of
TARIFF SURGE: The strong performance could be attributed to the growing artificial intelligence device market and mass orders ahead of potential US tariffs, analysts said The combined revenue of companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the Taipei Exchange for the whole of last year totaled NT$44.66 trillion (US$1.35 trillion), up 12.8 percent year-on-year and hit a record high, data compiled by investment consulting firm CMoney showed on Saturday. The result came after listed firms reported a 23.92 percent annual increase in combined revenue for last month at NT$4.1 trillion, the second-highest for the month of December on record, and posted a 15.63 percent rise in combined revenue for the December quarter at NT$12.25 billion, the highest quarterly figure ever, the data showed. Analysts attributed the