Taiwan would liberalize banking and investment rules to establish itself as a regional financial hub, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Taiwan Capital Market Forum in Taipei yesterday.
Recent world events could be an opening for Taiwan to become an international center for business investments and financial management, Tsai said at the forum, which was organized by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister publication of the Taipei Times).
“We’re facing unknowns in the world right now, including the continuing impact of US-China trade tensions and the reorganization of the global supply chain after COVID-19,” Tsai said. “These bring new challenges and opportunities.”
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Tsai said that Taiwan has two major advantages.
“First, our transparent laws and efficient courts are appealing to international businesses. Second, our comprehensive financial institutions,” she said.
In addition, dividend yields are high in Taiwan, transactions are stable and transparent, and compared with surrounding countries, the liquidity of Taiwan’s capital markets is high, Tsai said.
The ratio of foreign investors holding Taiwanese equities is at a historic high, at 41.2 percent as of the end of last year, Tsai said.
There are 1,717 publicly traded companies in Taiwan with a combined value NT$39.84 trillion (US$1.35 trillion), up 106 percent and 331 percent respectively from 2000, she said.
“While the world’s stock markets are all affected by COVID-19, Taiwan’s market hit a 30-year high. It is clear to see we are increasingly favored by foreign investors,” she said.
However, market liberalization would be the key to attract banks and other investment institutions to set up shop in Taiwan amid a government goal to make the nation Asia’s top destination for business financing, Tsai said.
“We are going to make Taiwan the No. 1 center in Asia for capital movement. In the future, we are going to relax rules for international finance institutions to establish offshore banking units [OBU] in Taiwan and make it more convenient to use foreign currencies. With more OBUs in Taiwan, we will be able to strengthen manufacturing development with all that capital,” she said.
“Secondly, we also wish to establish ourselves as a wealth management center,” Tsai said. “This means loosening rules and providing more diversified financial products and services. We can expand the scale of wealth management businesses, and attract more international institutions and capital to Taiwan.”
Tsai said that some businesses have been unable to go public as planned due to profit being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re working with those businesses proactively, loosening requirements and helping them obtain loans to get back on their feet,” she said.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told the forum that Taiwan has taken advantage of the US-China trade dispute by encouraging investment.
“There has been more than NT$1 trillion in investment in Taiwan since last year’s rise in US-China trade tensions,” Su said. “According to last month’s international assessments, Taiwan is the safest investment environment in Asia, and third in the world, after Switzerland and Norway."
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS