State-run Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) aims to improve its earnings ability this year by targeting overseas banking, mortgage lending and wealth management operations, company officials told an online investors conference yesterday.
The bank-focused conglomerate unveiled the goal after its net income declined 14 percent to NT$25.02 billion (US$880.1 million) last year, or earnings per share of NT$1.84.
Drastic interest rate cuts by central banks to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic weighed on interest income and bancassurance, Mega Financial president David Hu (胡光華) said.
Photo: Wu Chi-lun, Taipei Times
BRIGHT FUTURE
The operating environment is brightening with the world on course to emerge from the pandemic later this year following vaccine rollouts, Hu said.
“Mega Financial is seeking to reignite profit momentum on the back of its banking and securities arms, in line with a twin growth-driven strategy,” Hu said.
Net income for the first two months already picked up 12.7 percent from a year earlier to NT$3.94 billion, company data showed.
Main subsidiary Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) is to pursue 3.5 percent loan growth this year with a focus on the US, Southeast Asian and other foreign markets where local firms are deepening their presence and would need financial support, officials said.
Lending operations grew more than 40 percent at its Osaka branch, 30 percent in Austria, and 7 to 25 percent at US branches in California and New York in the past two months, they said.
Some local firms have made known their investment plans in the US, while others are taking advantage of rapid economic growth in Southeast Asia, they said, adding that Mega Bank would also like to take part in syndicated loans.
GROWING ASSETS
Mega Bank is also creating a new wealth management business to target high-net-worth clients with a goal of NT$15 billion in assets under management this year, company officials said.
Tightened credit controls would not affect plans to grow mortgage lending by 5 percent this year because Mega Bank has limited operations targeting first-time buyers and houses in good locations, they said.
Mega Securities Co (兆豐證券), which posted 41.9 percent growth in net income to NT$1.55 billion last year thanks to liquidity-driven rallies on the local bourse, would seek to remain a key profit driver this year by expanding its product offers, they said.
Mega Financial failed to report trading gains last year because banking shares dominated its portfolio, they said, adding it would adjust by raising positions in technology plays and firms that pay generous dividends.
Mega Financial declined to comment on its own dividend plans, saying that its board of directors would address the matter soon.
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