TS Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控) yesterday said it is positioned for growth this year, driven by robust global demand linked to artificial intelligence (AI) and stable domestic economic conditions.
The group also plans a series of subsidiary mergers to improve its competitive position across banking, securities and insurance, it said at an earnings conference in Taipei.
TS Financial president Welch Lin (林維俊) said that the surge in AI-related demand, combined with steady economic growth in Taiwan, is expected to increase corporate borrowing, trade finance activity and capital expenditure.
Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei Times
The developments would create opportunities for the company to expand lending, wealth management and other financial services, Lin said.
Two securities subsidiaries of the group are scheduled to merge on Monday next week, creating Taiwan’s fourth-largest brokerage by market share, he said.
TS Financial has already completed mergers of the group’s investment trust and life insurance units, he said.
Banking subsidiary integrations are progressing on schedule, with completion targeted by the end of this year, Lin said.
“These integrations are designed to position TS Financial as a top-tier international financial institution,” he said.
TS Financial reported net profit of NT$37.4 billion (US$1.17 billion) last year, or earnings per share of NT$1.91, up 86 percent from the previous year.
Its banking arm, Taishin International Bank Co (台新銀行), posted interest income of NT$33.9 billion, a 15.3 percent year-on-year increase, while fee income rose 17.3 percent to NT$17.1 billion, primarily from its wealth management and credit card operations.
Total income for the bank surged 37 percent to NT$25.3 billion following the integration of Shin Kong Commercial Bank Co (新光銀行) in July last year.
Life insurance operations also delivered strong results last year, with the combined income of Taishin Life Insurance Co (台新人壽) and Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) rising more than fivefold to NT$7.7 billion.
Foreign currency-denominated policies accounted for 68 percent of first-year premiums, enhancing asset-liability matching and reducing hedging costs, Lin said.
On dividend policy, Lin said that the focus was on stable, predictable growth rather than a fixed payout ratio.
The group plans a higher payout this year, primarily in cash, pending board approval, he said.
Amid geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East, TS Financial is taking a cautious “wait-and-see” approach, Lin said.
While market participants are bracing for a prolonged conflict and heightened inflationary pressures, the group reiterated confidence in Taiwan’s mid to long-term economic outlook.
Equity exposure has been temporarily reduced amid ongoing uncertainties, but the company plans to increase its holdings later, focusing on long-term growth opportunities, Lin said.
Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves fell below the US$600 billion mark at the end of last month, with the central bank reporting a total of US$596.89 billion — a decline of US$8.6 billion from February — ending a three-month streak of increases. The central bank attributed the drop to a combination of factors such as outflows by foreign institutional investors, currency fluctuations and its own market interventions. “The large-scale outflows disrupted the balance of supply and demand in the foreign exchange market, prompting the central bank to intervene repeatedly by selling US dollars to stabilize the local currency,” Department of Foreign
ENERGY ISSUES: The TSIA urged the government to increase natural gas and helium reserves to reduce the impact of the Middle East war on semiconductor supply stability Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) yesterday said it planned to invest more than NT$100 billion (US$3.15 billion) in building a new advanced chip testing facility in Kaohsiung to keep up with customer demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. That would be included in the company’s capital expenditure budget next year, ASE said. There is also room to raise this year’s capital spending budget from a record-high US$7 billion estimated three months ago, it added. ASE would have six factories under construction this year, another record-breaking number, ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence (AI) launch from DeepSeek (深度求索), seen as a benchmark for China’s progress in the fast-moving field. More than a year has passed since the start-up put Chinese AI on the map in early last year with a low-cost chatbot that performed at a similar level to US rivals. However, despite reports and rumors about its imminent release, DeepSeek’s next-generation “V4” model is nowhere in sight. Speculation is also swirling over the geopolitical implications of which computer chips were chosen to train and power the new
RSS