The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is to allow non-financial enterprises a majority stake in Taiwan’s Web-only banks.
The commission on Thursday finalized its guidelines for applicants seeking to compete for the two online-only bank licenses it is to issue.
The guidelines stipulate that non-financial enterprises are allowed to hold up to a 60 percent stake in an online-only bank, while lowering the minimum holding of financial institutions to 40 percent.
The change aims to create greater flexibility for non-financial sector companies to foster innovation, the commission said.
The change is a reversal of FSC Chairman Wellington Koo’s (顧立雄) earlier proposal that the banks should be majority-owned by financial institutions, as they have the experience to help newly established online-only banks comply with regulations.
However, more than half of the board of directors of Web-only banks must be represented by industry experts with backgrounds in banking, financial technology, e-commerce or telecommunications, the commission said.
Although non-financial enterprises can collectively hold a majority 60 percent stake, online-only banks must have at least one financial sector partner holding a 25 percent stake, the commission said.
Web-only banks should be considered a long-term investment, and financial companies would have to be prepared for the long haul, CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) president Daniel Wu (吳一揆) said at a company investors’ conference on Wednesday.
In entering uncharted waters, it could take up to five years for online-only banks to turn profitable, Wu said, adding that financial holding companies would need to carry losses from the venture on their books due to the commission’s requirements.
Wu said that CTBC Financial has prioritized the Indonesian and Philippine markets for online-only banks, with local technology industry partners leveraging the company’s existing bank branches in the countries.
Online banking is a much more efficient way to cover the two populous nations’ vast territories, which are made up of thousands of islands, he said.
Online-only banks would be required to meet the same anti-money laundering and illicit transaction rules as other banks, but E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) president Joseph Huang (黃男州) said he expects disruptive changes in financial regulations as new business models emerge.
Even without online banks, Web services have already reduced bank branch visits by 30 percent in the past two years, Huang said at an investors’ conference on Thursday.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
PRECEDENTED TIMES: In news that surely does not shock, AI and tech exports drove a banner for exports last year as Taiwan’s economic growth experienced a flood tide Taiwan’s exports delivered a blockbuster finish to last year with last month’s shipments rising at the second-highest pace on record as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and advanced computing remained strong, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Exports surged 43.4 percent from a year earlier to US$62.48 billion last month, extending growth to 26 consecutive months. Imports climbed 14.9 percent to US$43.04 billion, the second-highest monthly level historically, resulting in a trade surplus of US$19.43 billion — more than double that of the year before. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) described the performance as “surprisingly outstanding,” forecasting export growth
RSS