The Taiwan Insurance Guaranty Fund (TIGF, 保險安定基金) said yesterday it would auction off troubled Kuo Hua Life Insurance Co (國華人壽) today after halting the sale last month after an injunction order.
“The fund has decided to auction off Kuo Hua anew after the court overturned the injunction on Nov. 2,” TIGF said in a statement.
The fund has acted as receiver for Kuo Hua since Aug. 4, 2009, at the request of the Financial Supervisory Commission.
Last month, the insurer’s former owner, Wong Da-ming (翁大銘), challenged the legality of the auction.
Wong accused TIGF and the commission of an illegal tradeoff by reportedly agreeing to grant the winning bidder NT$100 billion (US$3.43 billion) in compensation to cover losses and free the buyer from capital increase requirements for the next 20 years.
TIGF said it respected Wong’s right to freedom of speech, but the auction was being carried out legally.
Chinatrust Life Insurance Co (中信人壽), Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽) and Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽) are reportedly interested in the company, which has NT$75.3 billion (US$2.57 billion) in net losses, with liability costs averaging 4.5 percent as of September.
The winning bidder is expected to receive record compensation of between NT$80 billion and NT$100 billion from TIGF to cover losses and negative interest spreads.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
Hong Kong authorities ramped up sales of the local dollar as the greenback’s slide threatened the foreign-exchange peg. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold a record HK$60.5 billion (US$7.8 billion) of the city’s currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page yesterday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. That added to the HK$56.1 billion of sales versus the greenback since Friday. The rapid intervention signals efforts from the city’s authorities to limit the local currency’s moves within its HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar trading band. Heavy sales of the local dollar by
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
RSS