Lawmakers yesterday criticized the capital requirement of NT$10 billion (US$323.35 million) for Web-only banks as being too high, but Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said the commission would not back down from the requirement.
The commission in April unveiled its Web-only bank regulations, which among others have required online lenders to have a minimum capital of NT$10 billion — the same as conventional banks.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Wan-ju (余宛如) said that neighboring nations have set much lower capital requirements for Web-only banks, such as ¥2 billion (US$17.64 million) in Japan, 50 billion won (US$43.95 million) in South Korea and HK$300 million (US$38.31 million) in Hong Kong.
Urging the commission to reduce the capital requirement, Yu said that Taiwanese Web-only banks would have a difficult time raising funds and turning a profit due to the high requirement.
Koo, who had said that Web-only banks could make a profit within three years of starting operations, said that Japanese Web-only banks were allowed to conduct only partial banking services, while the proposed online banks in Taiwan would function as their conventional peers.
Koo said he is not planing to reduce the capital requirement, as raising NT$10 billion “would not be a problem” for consortiums interested in setting up Web-only banks.
Moreover, Web-only banks would cost as much as their conventional counterparts due to the same compliance regulations, Koo said, adding that a South Korean Web-only bank has increased its capital this year.
Koo also said he is considering a new kind of conventional bank that can apply for lower capital requirement if it does not accept deposits.
As some technology companies are applying to conduct financial experiments within the government’s regulatory sandbox, the commission is considering a new kind of banking license for the companies if they succeed in their experiments, Koo said.
The new lenders, if realized, would be allowed to provide loans and payment transfer services, but not take deposits from clients, he said.
INVENTORY DOUBLED: Key parts have backed up in warehouses, halting notebook production, as Acer’s CEO said that a gradual reopening would not solve the problem PC vendor Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday said that lockdowns in China to control COVID-19 upended key component supply and disrupted PC production, although chip shortages have been improving. While chip supply constraints largely eased in the first quarter, the company faces uneven supplies of key components due to COVID-19 restrictions in China, Acer chairman and CEO Jason Chen (陳俊聖) told an online news conference. “Semiconductor shortage was the biggest problem in the first half of last year,” Chen said. “Now, we are beset by a supply chain issue caused by China's lockdowns.” With key components unable to be delivered and backing up in
MORE THAN BUZZ: The chip designer said it has received numerous orders from automakers to supply 5G modem chips, as it works to expand beyond smartphones MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it would ship the first 5G chips for vehicles to customers in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the year, as it moves to expand the reach of its 5G chips beyond smartphones. The Hsinchu-based chip designer said it has been developing 5G chips for connected vehicles over the past few years, targeting applications such as telematics and in-vehicle information systems. “We are seeing demand for 5G technology from numerous makers of connected cars, including electric vehicle makers. We have obtained numerous orders from automakers to supply 5G modem chips with highly integrated features,” J.C. Hsu
E Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技) yesterday said it would further expand capacity to cope with robust demand for e-paper displays used in e-readers, e-notes and electronic shelf labels, as the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation have not dampened consumer demand. Although rising inflation is weakening companies’ purchasing power, E Ink said that its customers have not scaled down orders for e-paper displays used in e-readers. “Reading is still the most affordable leisure activity that people have,” E Ink CEO Johnson Lee (李政昊) told an online investors’ conference in Taipei. As e-books are less expensive than paper books, “we have so far not seen
Covestro Taiwan Ltd (台灣科思創) yesterday launched a new research and development center that is to specialize in resin synthesis and fiberoptic coating after its parent company, Covestro AG, acquired a resins business from Royal DSM, it said. The German company in September 2020 agreed to buy the resins and functional materials business from Royal DSM for about 1.61 billion euros (US$1.69 billion), corporate data showed. The Dutch company’s local units, such as Covestro Resins (ROA) Ltd (帝昇) and Covestro Resins (Taiwan) Ltd (新力美), are next month to be integrated into Covestro Taiwan Ltd, with their employees continuing resins development, Covestro Taiwan said. The