Taiwan has no timetable for launching a digital currency, although it is not against it, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said yesterday after an inspection tour of the bank’s Financial Information Service Co (FISC, 財金資訊), which oversees the nation’s banking payment and settlement systems.
Yang understands why China is keen on issuing a digital currency, for pragmatic and other reasons, but Taiwan does not share the sense of urgency, he said.
“Taiwan is not lagging global peers on the matter, and the idea is not at the top of the bank’s priority list,” Yang said.
The bank has not set a timetable for the development of a digital currency, not only because cash circulation remains quite convenient and is relatively low cost, but because it is on the rise, he said.
The bank wants to first boost the use of electronic payments via mobile devices, he said.
The bank had earlier said that it had established a special task force to study the possibility of a digital currency, as technology is reshaping the world.
The group is to release a report on the issue in the first half of this year, and tap other experts to help build an experimental platform and start trial runs in the second half of the year. Last month, it panned China’s upcoming digital currency as “plain.”
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
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