SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) yesterday said that it would maintain its dividend payout ratio at 60 percent this year, while it expects to distribute a cash dividend of NT$0.86 per share after reporting record earnings per share of NT$1.43 for last year.
That would be higher than the cash dividend of NT$0.7 per share that the company distributed last year after posting earnings per share of NT$1.09 for 2020.
The dividend proposal for this year is subject to further discussion by the company’s board of directors and requires approval by shareholders at its annual general meeting, SinoPac told an investors’ conference in Taipei.
Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei Times
Net profit last year was NT$16.16 billion (US$575.89 million), pushed up by rising net interest income and lower funding costs at its banking arm, as well as greater income from fees at its securities arm, it said.
Because the company aims to keep its dividend payout ratio at 60 percent, as in previous years, the dividend this year might be higher than last year, SinoPac Financial Holdings chief financial officer Kerry Hsu (許如玫) said.
The company this year plans to focus on digitalization and artificial intelligence to boost efficiency, SinoPac Financial Holdings president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said, adding that it is also to recruit at least 100 people who specialize in technology.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic curbed its overseas expansion, the firm plans to continue seeking investment opportunities to enlarge its operations in Southeast Asia, Chu said.
The central bank is expected to raise its policy rate by 12.5 basis points three times this year — in June, September and December, SinoPac Financial Holdings lead economist Jack Huang (黃蔭基) said.
With a total rate increase of 37.5 basis points in the pipeline, the central bank is aiming to curb inflation and catch up with rate hikes expected by the US Federal Reserve, Huang said.
The rate hikes in Taiwan might lead to a rise in bond yields while dragging bond prices down, affecting the net value of local life insurers, as they hold a substantial number of bonds, he said.
The central bank is expected to continue tightening its selective credit controls, he said.
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