Loans to nations targeted by the government’s New Southbound Policy totaled NT$1.18 trillion (US$42.23 billion) as of the end of last month, down NT$9.76 billion from the end of last year, as banks reduced lending due to economic uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday.
Combined loans to the 18 nations at the end of last year were NT$1.19 trillion, the commission said.
“That came in contrary to our expectations of a 5 percent increase in banks’ combined loans to Southeast Asia this year,” Banking Bureau Deputy Director-General Lin Chih-chi (林志吉) told a videoconference in New Taipei City.
The decline in lending also came after a string of overseas loans turned sour last year, but Lin said that the commission had not yet concluded that was a contributing factor.
In the first half of this year, loans to India dipped the steepest by 21.4 percent from the end of last year to NT$111.5 billion, while loans to Indonesia decreased 17.4 percent to NT$115.1 billion and those to Singapore fell 12 percent to NT$177.9 billion, FSC data showed.
Australia continued to be the largest market for overseas lending, but loans to the country also fell 1.6 percent to NT$259.8 billion, data showed.
Vietnam was the only market that saw loan growth, with combined lending expanding 20.9 percent to NT$257.6 billion over the period, as more Taiwanese companies increased investments or production in the country and thus needed more funding from banks, Lin said.
Taiwanese banks also have the most units — branches, offices or subsidiaries — in Vietnam, at 58, among the New Southbound Policy countries, he said, adding that the more units a bank has, the more business opportunities it attracts.
Banks have 54 units in Cambodia, 17 in the Philippines and 15 in Myanmar, he said.
The FSC has approved seven banks to set up new branches in Vietnam, while most of them intended to open units in the capital, Hanoi, but have not yet received permission from Vietnamese regulators, Lin said.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS