Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) Taiwan recently organized a series of “2024 Economic Outlook” seminars focusing on the emerging economic development trends in Taiwan and the state of the global economy in 2024. The event hosted participants from e-commerce, e-mobility, consumer retail, and technology industries.
Citi Economist Adrienne Lui discussed the global economic outlook for 2024 saying that we expect a backloaded recovery in 2H 2024 on the back of technology export recovery, even as global economic headwinds persist. Advanced semiconductor development was also likely to fuel tech investment until 2025.
Citi is optimistic about Taiwan’s economic outlook for the next year. With strong demand for AI applications and automobiles, export orders of Taiwan’s technology industries have risen significantly, supporting a favorable economic outlook for Taiwan.
According to Michelle Yu, Head of CCB Taiwan, “Amidst a volatile and uncertain global economic environment, having flexible and diversified fundraising options is crucial for corporates to plan for both the short and long term.”
Against a backdrop of rising macro and geopolitical risk, Citi has observed that corporations are diversifying their supply chains and using digital platforms to effectively manage working capital and minimize risk. As the need to improve operational efficiency increases, many companies also recognize the necessity of establishing capital management backup centers.
Michelle added, “In response to the global supply chain adjustments, enterprises are placing greater emphasis on the cost of operation and cross-border liquidity management during supply chain transfers. Besides our comprehensive multinational network and global branch offices, Citi also provides innovative digital financial services. For example, Citi’s digital cash pooling service allows clients to centrally manage different accounts across the world, and to utilize cross-border cash pooling to improve treasury management by flexibly deploying funds between accounts in Taiwan and overseas.”
She further emphasized that as a leading international bank with a physical presence in 95 markets, Citi is in a better position to leverage the strength of its global network and provide more options and solutions to clients, amidst a volatile economic environment to support clients’ business objectives. Citi is committed to providing cross-border funding, and financing solutions to help clients expand their international business, optimize operating costs, and ensure sufficient financial liquidity.
Looking ahead at Taiwan’s economic development prospects in 2024, Adrienne remains optimistic about Taiwan’s economic growth. As upstream chips design and downstream AI-enabled servers, cloud computing and high-power computers have helped Taiwan exports to bottom out since 3Q 2023, Taiwan is expected to be a major AI player in 2024 until 2025. Meanwhile, demand for PCs and notebooks, high-end smartphones, and other technology exports are also increasing.
Taiwan is one of the most important markets for Citi globally. Citi provides Taiwanese corporations with comprehensive global financial services to assist them in their supply chain relocation strategies, reassessing operational and cash flow requirements, adapting, and strengthening operational resilience, and pursuing sustainable growth and development.
In terms of optimizing working capital and cross-border cash flow, Citi provides corporate clients with international remittance services in 140 different currencies. Moreover, Citi has launched mobile banking for enterprises, remittance intelligent detection services, liquidity management and automated reconciliation services to help clients flexibly handle various operational and funding needs.
With a history of nearly 60 years in Taiwan, Citi has also received numerous awards both domestically and internationally, including “Best Equity Fundraising Financial Advisor” by The Asset A for two consecutive years, “Best International Corporate and Institutional Financial Advisor” for eight consecutive years. This year (2023), Citi Taiwan was awarded the “Best Sub-Custodian Bank in Taiwan” for the sixth year in a row, and “Best Investment Bank” for the second consecutive year by Asiamoney. Citi Taiwan has also won the “Best Corporate Financial Services” and “Best Sustainable Finance” awards for excellence in banking from Excellence Magazine, recognizing Citi’s effort in assisting corporations with their development and sustainable transformation in Taiwan.
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