DBS Bank Taiwan yesterday opened a branch in Taipei’s prime Xinyi District (信義) aimed at courting wealthy clients as the Singaporean group seeks to grow its Taiwanese private banking business.
The branch reflects the importance of the local market, where demand for private banking is growing fast, DBS Group head of consumer banking and wealth management Tan Su-shan (陳淑珊) told a celebration in Taipei.
Taiwan is the third market where the bank offers its DBS Treasures private client services, after Singapore and Hong Kong, as affluent clients have swelled following its acquisition of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s (ANZ) Asian retail and wealth management businesses last year.
Photo courtesy of DBS
The flagship branch, which targets clients with NT$30 million (US$987,297) in assets, is to provide financial services, travel privileges and customized financial planning in a “friendly and private environment,” Tan said.
“DBS Treasures private client services is our Asia-focused wealth management platform that offers customers the best of private banking and consumer banking,” she said.
DBS seeks to outcompete peers by taking a more thorough look at clients’ sources of wealth, so it can offer solutions to increase their portfolio, Tan said.
Affluent Taiwanese have shown a penchant for real-estate investment and DBS financial experts can help find real-estate investment trusts, private equity funds and other investment tools, Tan said.
DBS would also underscore the importance of legacy planning as many high-net-worth clients are aged 50 to 70, she said.
DBS ranks No. 6 in wealth management globally with assets under management growing 22 percent to NT$4.69 trillion in the first quarter of the year, company data showed.
ANZ contributed NT$493.7 billion of that growth, the data showed.
Meanwhile, the average incomes of wealth management customers rose 28 percent to NT$14.9 billion, Tan said.
The bank has gained significant headway in wealth management and innovation, and it would press ahead with digitalization, DBS Bank Taiwan managing director Lim Him-chuan (林鑫川) said.
The banking group plans to launch iWealth, an all-in-one banking and wealth management platform, in Taiwan in the third quarter of next year, Lim said, adding that the timeline could be shortened if clients so desire.
DBS private banking clients are offered a host of non-banking services, including airport pickups and lounge access at Singapore Changi Airport, DBS Taiwan Consumer Banking managing director Seraph Sun (孫可基) said.
Tan said DBS is mulling opening private banking branches in Taichung and Kaohsiung, even though it operates only one each in Singapore and Hong Kong, because Taiwan has a larger population.
Private banking clients might exceed 1,000 by year-end, from 800 at present, she said.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS