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.
Sweeping policy changes under US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr are having a chilling effect on vaccine makers as anti-vaccine rhetoric has turned into concrete changes in inoculation schedules and recommendations, investors and executives said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has in the past year upended vaccine recommendations, with the country last month ending its longstanding guidance that all children receive inoculations against flu, hepatitis A and other diseases. The unprecedented changes have led to diminished vaccine usage, hurt the investment case for some biotechs, and created a drag that would likely dent revenues and
Global semiconductor stocks advanced yesterday, as comments by Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) at Davos, Switzerland, helped reinforce investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI). Samsung Electronics Co gained as much as 5 percent to an all-time high, helping drive South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI above 5,000 for the first time. That came after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 3 percent to a fresh record on Wednesday, with a boost from Nvidia. The gains came amid broad risk-on trade after US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat of tariffs on some European nations over backing for Greenland. Huang further
CULPRITS: Factors that affected the slip included falling global crude oil prices, wait-and-see consumer attitudes due to US tariffs and a different Lunar New Year holiday schedule Taiwan’s retail sales ended a nine-year growth streak last year, slipping 0.2 percent from a year earlier as uncertainty over US tariff policies affected demand for durable goods, data released on Friday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. Last year’s retail sales totaled NT$4.84 trillion (US$153.27 billion), down about NT$9.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, from 2024. Despite the decline, the figure was still the second-highest annual sales total on record. Ministry statistics department deputy head Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳) said sales of cars, motorcycles and related products, which accounted for 17.4 percent of total retail rales last year, fell NT$68.1 billion, or
HSBC Bank Taiwan Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀) and the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance cooperation on the suspicious transaction analysis mechanism. This landmark agreement makes HSBC the first foreign bank in Taiwan to establish such a partnership with the High Prosecutors Office, underscoring its commitment to active anti-fraud initiatives, financial inclusion, and the “Treating Customers Fairly” principle. Through this deep public-private collaboration, both parties aim to co-create a secure financial ecosystem via early warning detection and precise fraud prevention technologies. At the signing ceremony, HSBC Taiwan CEO and head of banking Adam Chen (陳志堅)
RSS