Financial Sector Steps Up Sustainability Efforts
Taiwan advances towards net-zero carbon emissions with expanded green finance initiatives, boosted by growing green bonds issuance and stricter sustainability regulations.
finance
Fintech Brings Migrant Worker Remittance Business Above Ground
Long forced to send money back home through an inefficient and expensive gray-market system, migrant workers in Taiwan now have access to a growing number of convenient, secure mobile app-based remittance services enabled by recent regulatory changes. For many years, Taiwan’s financial sector paid little attention to the more than 700,000 migrant workers from Indonesia,…
Taiwan’s Mobile Payment Market in Transition
Mobile payments are steadily on the rise in Taiwan. Payments made using mobile phones accounted for 20% of all credit card payments in the first three quarters of 2021, an increase of 4.5 percentage points from the same period in 2020, according to data from the National Credit Card Center (NCCC). LINE Pay, the most…
Taiwan’s Virtual Banks Make a Solid Debut
Taiwan’s first two virtual banks have quickly accumulated customers, and the market is expanding with a third such bank on the way. But Taiwan’s oversaturated banking market will likely require that the digital lenders adopt new tactics and technologies to become truly competitive. Taiwan’s financial industry is known for its conservatism. Firms and regulators alike…
Ensuring Financial Stability Requires Economic Rebalancing
Taiwan’s economy has demonstrated its resilience during the past two years of the pandemic, thanks to strong demand for the island’s exports. In the long term, however, some reforms to monetary policy are needed as Taiwan faces the dual challenges of a hot housing market and an aging population. While post-pandemic inflation continues to impact…
The Rundown: Taishin Acquisition, Domestic Car Sales, Vaccination Travel
A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS FSC Approves Major Insurance M&A Deal The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) on May 31 provided its conditional approval of Taishin Financial Holdings’ acquisition of Prudential Life Insurance. The FSC’s first condition is that Taishin make a statement committing…
Breaking the Deadlock on Financial Consolidation in Taiwan
A proposed acquisition could be a turning point for Taiwan’s overbanked financial services industry. Last December, Fubon Financial Holdings, the second-largest financial services organization in Taiwan, announced that it was pursuing a hostile takeover of Jih Sun Financial Holdings through a public tender offer for at least 50% of the company’s shares. The offer is…
Taiwan Seeks More Foreign Finance Talent
Last December, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced the easing of requirements for foreign finance professionals, part of the government’s plans to make Taiwan an Asia-Pacific financial hub. The work experience requirement for senior financial executives applying for the Employment Gold Card – a special work visa that incorporates an alien resident certificate, open work…
Financing Offshore Wind Power
Most of the funding for this portion of Taiwan’s energy development is coming from international banks, with much of it guaranteed by foreign export credit agencies. Taiwan’s ambitious program to promote offshore wind power as a major energy source – installing over 700 turbines in the Taiwan Strait by 2025 – will require an estimated…
Everywhere you want to be
Visa Direct – the more secure, convenient and cost-effective way for international remittance With the rise of fintech, banking is no longer confined to a particular place but is something we can do from anywhere. As banking undergoes industry-wide transformation, financial institutions and technology companies are working together to find new solutions that can better…