Chinese funds are eyeing stakes in Taiwan’s hotels, restaurants and healthcare establishments, as booming cross-strait tourism presents massive business opportunities, UBS Taiwan said yesterday.
Taiwan and China will step up exchanges this year after political uncertainty settles in China, which is positive for cross-strait tourism and investment activity, Jerry Guo (郭嘉宏), head of investment banking at UBS Securities in Taipei, said at an annual media briefing.
Chinese funds are interested in strategic partnerships with Taiwanese hotels, restaurants, and healthcare providers, and some may make their moves this year, Guo said.
The acquisition of a 20 percent stake in Taiwan’s Vigor Kobo (維格餅家) in November last year by China’s Fosun Group (復星集團) was the first business alliance in the food sector, Guo said.
The strategic cooperation allows Vigor Kobo access to the massive Chinese food market and allows the Chinese investor to capitalize on the local baker’s rapid expansion, as its pineapple pastries are considered a must-have souvenir among Chinese tourists, Guo said.
Quite a few Taiwanese restaurants are attractive investment targets and so are hotels near popular tourist resorts, Guo said, refusing to name any.
“Partnerships with Chinese investors would guarantee more Chinese guests, which would boost revenues and earnings for local hotel and restaurant operators,” he said.
Local health and skincare establishments also make strong investment targets because they offer better quality services than their Chinese counterparts, Guo said.
UBS Taiwan, which commands the leadership position in terms of wealth management for high net worth clients in the nation, expects the TAIEX to peak in the second quarter at about 8,200, from 7,695.99 at the close of trading yesterday, said William Dong (董成康), head of equities and research.
The main index is likely to trade in a tight range until the end of the Lunar New Year holidays in the middle of next month, he said.
The main index may pick up after that, thanks to an improved outlook for the economy at home and abroad, Dong said, adding that Taiwan’s GDP is likely to grow 3.7 percent this year, from an estimated 1 percent last year.
Lingering uncertainty over the pace of recovery and pricing competition among major technology firms may cast a shadow over the local bourse in the third quarter, he said.
Frank Suen (孫宇文), head of the firm’s foreign exchange division, said a currency war is in place after the US, Europe and Japan embarked on aggressive money-printing operations to stimulate growth.
Central banks in Asia, including Taiwan’s, are watching closely, but may not adopt drastic response measures given the improved economic fundamentals, Suen said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
CUSTOMERS’ BURDEN: TSMC already has operations in the US and is a foundry, so any tariff increase would mostly affect US customers, not the company, the minister said Taiwanese manufacturers are “not afraid” of US tariffs, but are concerned about being affected more heavily than regional economic competitors Japan and South Korea, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said. “Taiwan has many advantages that other countries do not have, the most notable of which is its semiconductor ecosystem,” Kuo said. The US “must rely on Taiwan” to boost its microchip manufacturing capacities, Kuo said in an interview ahead of his one-year anniversary in office tomorrow. Taiwan has submitted a position paper under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act to explain the “complementary relationship” between Taiwan and the US
RSS