First-year premiums (FYPs) of foreign-currency insurance policies in April were NT$27.1 billion (US$914.3 million), the lowest in the past six months, as the COVID-19 pandemic affected insurers’ sales activities, data released on Tuesday by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed.
The FYP represented a 45 percent plunge from a year earlier and was larger than a 13 percent annual decline in the first quarter, which the commission attributed to a 58.8 percent retreat in sales of investment-linked foreign-currency insurance policies to NT$6.3 billion and a decline of 38 percent in sales of traditional foreign-currency insurance products to NT$20.8 billion.
Although consumers in April were still interested in buying US dollar-denominated insurance products because of the cheaper greenback against the New Taiwan dollar, foreign-currency insurance policies in general saw weaker momentum as insurers could not hold regular marketing events amid the pandemic, a commission official said on Wednesday.
Insurers tend to rely on face-to-face customer visits to introduce foreign-currency insurance policies, which are more complicated than NT dollar products and involve foreign-exchange risk, the official said.
Overall, cumulative FYPs of foreign-currency insurance policies decreased 21 percent annually to NT$160.2 billion during the January-to-April period, a smaller decline than a 41 percent drop in FYPs of all life insurance policies to NT$268 billion during the same period, data showed.
That was because declared interest rates of foreign-currency products — which determine the bonuses that policyholders receive — were still higher than those offered by the NT dollar insurance products, the official said.
For example, US dollar products’ declared interest rates remained above 3 percent, while the rates of NT dollar products were at about 2 percent.
FYPs of US dollar policies totaled US$5 billion in the first four months, down 11 percent from a year earlier, while those of yuan-denominated policies shrank 77 percent to 562 million yuan (US$79.4 million) and Australian dollar policies fell 42 percent to A$230 million (US$158 million) over the same period, data showed.
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