Taipei Fubon Bank Co (台北富邦銀行) has secured approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) to open a branch in Mumbai, India.
The FSC said in a statement yesterday that Taipei Fubon Bank — a subsidiary of Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) — had taken into account the Indian market’s current and long-term growth prospects before deciding to set up a branch in Mumbai.
The planned branch is expected to help Taiwanese investors in India and local Indian enterprises access financing opportunities, including international syndicated loans, it said.
Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei Times
The commission therefore issued the green light to Taipei Fubon Bank to seek approval from financial authorities in India to open a branch in the Indian financial hub.
If successful, it would be the fourth Taiwanese bank to set up shop in India, it added.
So far, CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行) has two branches in India, one in New Delhi and the other in Sriperumbudur, while Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), the largest Taiwanese lender, and Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) each have a representative office in Mumbai.
India is one of the 18 countries targeted by the government’s New Southbound Policy, which aims to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and the 18 countries in Southeast and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, to reduce Taiwan’s dependence on China. It was introduced after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in 2016.
As of the end of last month, Taipei Fubon Bank had overseas branches in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Binh Duong, as well as in Hong Kong and Singapore, the FSC said, adding that the bank owns a subsidiary — Fubon Bank — in China.
In addition, it has representative offices in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Sydney, Australia.
Fubon Financial last month retained the title of most profitable financial institution in Taiwan after it posted a net profit of NT$14.07 billion (US$446.3 million), up 131 percent from a year earlier, with earnings per share of NT $10.8.
Taipei Fubon Bank also posted a new monthly high of almost NT$3.5 billion in net profit that month.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective