First-year premiums of foreign-currency insurance policies plunged 53 percent to NT$24.2 billion (US$801.1 million) as of the end of October, marking the largest drop for a single month this year, the Financial Supervisory Commission said.
The reduction was due to a 22 percent year-on-year decline in the cumulative sales of foreign-currency insurance policies in the first 10 months to NT$421 billion, the data showed.
First-year premiums of investment-linked foreign-currency insurance policies plunged 46 percent year-on-year to NT$7.15 billion, while those of traditional foreign-currency insurance products halved year-on-year to NT$16.97 billion, the data showed.
US dollar-denominated policies, Chinese yuan-denominated policies and Australian dollar-denominated policies all retreated from a year earlier, the government data showed.
The decline in the sales of investment-linked foreign-currency policies could be attributed in part to Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) being barred by the commission from selling new investment-linked policies until it fixed a faulty information technology system, a commission official said by telephone.
It also seemed that traditional foreign-currency insurance policies had fallen out of favor, as they provided lesser returns after their declared interest rates were trimmed by insurance companies, the official said.
Many of the nation’s life insurers in October cut their declared interest rates — which decide how big a bonus policyholders gain each month — for their New Taiwan dollar and US dollar products in a bid to reduce operating risk.
Sales of foreign-currency insurance policies were also likely negatively affected by fluctuations in the exchange rates between the NT dollar, US dollar and the yuan, the official said.
Some consumers preferred traditional NT dollar-denominated policies with higher returns ahead of the commission implementing tighter standards on those policies next year, the official added.
First-year premiums of US dollar-denominated policies, which account for 80 percent of the market, fell 21 percent year-on-year to US$11.77 billion in the first 10 months of the year.
Sales of yuan-denominated policies shrank 45 percent year-on-year to 5.12 billion yuan (US$730.5 million) in the first 10 months due to a 46 percent slump in the sales of investment-linked products, with first-year premiums of traditional policies falling 4 percent year-on-year, the commission’s data showed.
First-year premiums of Australian dollar-denominated policies fell 3 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months, as a 29 percent decline in the sales of index-linked policies offset a 19 percent gain in the sales of traditional policies, the data showed.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
TARIFF TALKS: The US secretary of commerce is eyeing more than US$300 billion in investments and said Taiwan would train US workers, but Taipei has denied the latter US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the US is expecting a large investment pledge from Taiwan in trade talks, while President William Lai (賴清德) listed areas that need improvement in order for projects to be completed. “We’re in the midst of discussions,” Lutnick said on Wednesday. “But the fact is, this administration’s goal is to bring semiconductor manufacturing to America.” Lai on Wednesday said Taiwan is supportive of US President Donald Trump’s goal of reindustrializing the US, including efforts to ramp up semiconductor production. Such a goal would require the US to reduce its reliance on Taiwan as a key source
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
Netflix on Friday faced fierce criticism over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices. As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros — the studio behind Casablanca, the Harry Potter movies and Friends — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. Titanic director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying US Congress to oppose the deal,
RSS