Taiwanese financial holding companies reduced their overall overseas exposure to NT$25.13 trillion (US$821.9 billion) in the fourth quarter of last year, the latest data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed yesterday.
The 1.2 percent quarterly decline was the first in six years, indicating a shift in financial holding companies’ appetite for foreign markets, as their exposure to the five largest markets — the US, China, the UK, France and Hong Kong — decreased from the previous quarter, the commission said.
The 15 financial holding firms’ overall investment in overseas markets totaled NT$19.23 trillion at the end of last year, down 1 percent quarter-on-quarter.
Photo: Reuters
Their combined lending in foreign markets also fell 2.1 percent quarterly to NT$4 trillion.
The companies trimmed their US exposure by 1.3 percent quarterly to NT$8.4 trillion and increased their investment in the US by 0.7 percent to NT$7.45 trillion, but reduced their lending in that market by 3 percent.
Overall, their US exposure accounted for 33.4 percent of total overseas exposure, hitting a new high, commission data showed.
At the same time, the companies lowered their exposure to China by 1 percent to NT$2.21 trillion, and the ratio of their Chinese exposure to all overseas exposure stood at 8.8 percent, an all-time low.
That is because the companies reduced their investment and lending in China from a quarter earlier, as they were turning more conservative about that market amid concerns about Beijing’s COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and trade tension with the US.
Local financial holding companies increased their exposure to Japan by 7.5 percent to NT$939 billion and to Australia by 1.3 percent to NT$934 billion, while increasing their exposure to Canada and South Korea only mildly, the commission said.
Meanwhile, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted financial holding companies to reduce their exposure to Russia to NT$91.3 billion by the end of last year, compared with zero exposure to Ukraine, the data showed.
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