Taiwan is weighing a proposal to permit listed companies to distribute dividends in US dollars, a change from the rule requiring payouts in the local currency, people familiar with the matter said.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is evaluating operational details, they said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
NO TIMELINE
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
While the regulator is reviewing the framework, a timeline for a potential rollout remains unclear.
The plan was put forth by Taiwanese firms that maintain sizeable US dollar positions and a high concentration of overseas shareholders, one of the people said.
Proponents said the shift would streamline capital flows by eliminating the conversion process that currently adds friction to the market.
Under existing rules, companies earning revenue in US dollars must convert those funds into New Taiwan dollars to issue dividends, only for foreign investors to immediately convert them back into US dollars to repatriate the capital.
Beyond reducing transaction costs, the change could help smooth seasonal currency fluctuations.
Large-scale conversions during peak dividend cycles often trigger short-term volatility for the NT dollar, a phenomenon also seen in other Asian markets with high foreign ownership, such as South Korea.
A formal policy shift is unlikely to take effect before the peak dividend season in July, one of the people said, adding that amending the relevant regulations would require significant lead time.
The FSC declined to comment.
NT$2.2 TRILLION PAYOUTS
Taiwanese listed companies have announced a total of NT$2.2 trillion (US$69.77 billion) in dividends for last year, with crown-jewel chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) among the biggest contributors.
Foreign investors owned 45 percent of Taiwanese listed stocks as of last year, FSC data showed.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS