Mortgages approved by local banks grew 0.23 percent month-on-month to NT$9.33 trillion (US$306.4 billion) in February after contracting 0.12 percent in January, which was the first decline in a decade, data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed last week.
On an annual basis, mortgages grew 5.49 percent, the lowest increase in 44 months, the data showed.
The sluggish growth came as inflation, rate hikes and macroeconomic uncertainty continued to drag the housing market, the commission said.
Photo: Clare Cheng, Taipei Times
“People’s interest in real estate appears to have recovered mildly after the Lunar New Year holiday, but overall, the market is cooling down,” Banking Bureau Chief Secretary Phil Tong (童政彰) said on Thursday last week.
It remains to be seen whether the expansion in mortgages continued last month, when the central bank raised its policy rates by 0.125 percentage points, the commission said.
Rate hikes have dented demand for homes due to higher costs, while developers have become more cautious about launching new projects due to rising building material costs amid inflation, Tong said.
The latest data also showed that approved construction loans increased 0.56 percent monthly and 9.34 percent annually to NT$3.5 trillion in February.
The annual gain in construction loans was the lowest in 44 months, indicating a weakening sentiment among developers, the commission said.
The average property loan-to-deposit ratio of local banks fell to 26.28 percent in February, the lowest in 44 months, commission data showed.
Regulations limit a bank’s mortgage and construction loans at 30 percent of its deposits and bank debentures.
Banks whose property-to-loan ratio exceeds 28 percent are advised by regulators to reduce lending activity.
No bank had a ratio above 28 percent in February, the commission said.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
TikTok abounds with viral videos accusing prestigious brands of secretly manufacturing luxury goods in China so they can be sold at cut prices. However, while these “revelations” are spurious, behind them lurks a well-oiled machine for selling counterfeit goods that is making the most of the confusion surrounding trade tariffs. Chinese content creators who portray themselves as workers or subcontractors in the luxury goods business claim that Beijing has lifted confidentiality clauses on local subcontractors as a way to respond to the huge hike in customs duties imposed on China by US President Donald Trump. They say this Chinese decision, of which Agence
RSS