The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday lowered assumed interest rates by up to 75 basis points on insurance policies to reflect lingering uncertainty over the sector’s outlook.
The downward adjustments, set to take effect on Jan. 1, mean life insurers will have to set aside more reserves and raise insurance policy costs for products with tenures ranging from three to six years, the commission said.
The regulator trimmed assumed interest rates by 25 basis points on all currency-based insurance policies with three-year tenures and the adjustment will widen to 75 basis points for policies with six-year tenures or longer, the commission said in a statement.
Assumed interest rates will drop by between 50 and 75 basis points on euro-based insurance policies with six-year tenures more longer, the commission said, as the EU remains burdened by sovereign debt problems, although the crisis has stabilized somewhat, the commission said.
The adjustment may boost policy sales in the short term because customers may want to buy ahead of cost hikes, which may help insurers to maintain sufficient liquidity and reasonable profitability, the commission said.
Separately, the commission approved plans by CTBC Life Insurance Co (中信人壽) to acquire the local unit of Canada’s Manulife Insurance Co (宏利人壽).
CTBC plans to integrate the Canadian insurer on Jan. 1, after inking a deal in August to acquire Manulife for NT$724 million (US$24.04 million) as the local insurer seeks to increase its economies of scale.
The commission said it gave the go-ahead after CTBC Life promised to retain all Manulife employees and honor existing policies.
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
RSS