The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) fined local firms, mostly financial institutions, a total of NT$185.42 million (US$5.8 million) in the first eight months of the year for internal control, financial services misconduct and corporate governance-related breaches, data released last week by the commission showed.
The fines increased 20.2 percent from the NT$154.22 million imposed during the same period last year and reached about 59 percent of the commission’s targeted penalties of NT$313 million for the whole of this year, the commission said, adding that the fines were meted out to firms to correct their deficiencies, not as a means of generating income.
In Taiwan, banks, insurance companies and securities and futures firms obtain special licenses from the government to operate their businesses, but at the same time they also face penalties and disciplinary measures from respective regulators — namely the Banking Bureau, the Insurance Bureau and the Securities and Futures Bureau — if they contravene laws and regulations.
Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei Times
In addition to fines, the regulators’ penalties include corrections, improvement requirements, warnings and restrictions, as well requiring that a company dismiss or suspend directors, supervisors and managers.
In the January-to-August period, the financial penalties imposed by the Banking Bureau were NT$82.895 million, up 32 percent from a year earlier, with the top three fines levied on CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) and CTBC Bank Co (中信銀行), the commission’s data showed.
According to the commission, the Banking Bureau fined CTBC Financial NT$30 million in August for corporate governance breaches after a major shareholder was found to have improperly interfered in the operations of the company.
The bureau also fined CTBC Bank NT$20 million in May for bank personnel involved in assisting fraud rings and a penalty of NT$10 million in July for theft from clients, the commission’s data showed.
Meanwhile, the Insurance Bureau imposed total fines of NT$49.40 million in the eight-month period, compared with NT$46.30 million last year, led by a penalty of NT$10 million against Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽) in August for failing to comply with corporate governance requirements and for allowing a major shareholder to improperly interfere in company operations.
The Securities and Futures Bureau fined several securities and futures firms including Cathay Securities Co (國泰證券) and Concord Securities Co (康和證券), as well as some publicly listed companies a total of NT$53.12 million in the first eight months, up 17.73 percent year-on-year, the commission’s data showed.
US PROBE: The Information reported that the US Department of Commerce is investigating whether the firm made advanced chips for China’s Huawei Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract maker of advanced chips, yesterday said it is a law-abiding company, and is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations including export controls. The Hsinchu-based chip giant issued the statement after US news Web site The Information ran a story saying that the US Department of Commerce has launched a probe into TSMC over whether it breached export rules by making smartphone or artificial intelligence (AI) chips for China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為). “We maintain a robust and comprehensive export system for monitoring and ensuring compliance,” the statement said. “If we
REGIONAL COMPETITION: Over the past few years the Philippines has lost ground to neighbors such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, a Philippine official said The Philippines is trying to enlist Taiwanese chip giants to expand in semiconductors, a bid to catch up with its neighbors who are emerging as significant suppliers in the industry. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) are among companies the Philippines is reaching out to as it seeks equipment and expertise to build out chip fabrication operations, said Dan Lachica, head of the Southeast Asian country’s main electronics industry group, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc (SEIPI). The association is working with Philippine officials in Taiwan to talk with potential
DEMAND FOR AI CHIPS: Net income in the third quarter surged 31.2% quarter-on-quarter to NT$325.26 billion, the strongest quarterly return in the company’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast to annual growth of 30 percent this year, thanks to strong and sustainable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors for servers. It was the second upward adjustment from 25 percent year-on-year growth estimated three months ago, despite recent concerns about whether the AI boom could be another technology bubble. “The demand is real. It’s real. And I believe it is just the beginning of this demand. Alright, so one of my key customers said the demand right now is ‘insane,’” TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C.
Starbucks Corp might have the more recognizable name, but 7-Eleven’s City Cafe remains the king of Taiwan’s fresh coffee market, helped by the convenience store chain’s extensive market presence and product diversification. President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), which runs both the 7-Eleven and Starbucks store chains in Taiwan, established the City Cafe brand in 2004. The brand took off when actress Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) became its spokesperson in 2007. City Cafe’s sales exceeded NT$10 billion (US$311.69 million) for the first time in 2015, surpassing the revenue of Starbucks Taiwan, and rose to more than NT$17 billion last year, exceeding the NT$14.98