Betty Hou

Taiwan

Reporter at BNN Bloomberg

Reporter for Bloomberg News @business. From Taiwan🇹🇼 Opinions are my own. Please reach me at [email protected]

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Articles

Taiwan Holds Key Rate as It Weighs Tariffs, Currency Gains

1 week ago | bloomberg.com | Yian Lee |Chien-Hua Wan |Betty Hou

Taiwan Central Bank headquarters building in Taipei. (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan held its benchmark interest rate for the fifth straight quarter as it considers worries about the impact of possible US tariffs on the economy, inflation and currency gains. The policy rate stayed at 2%, the central bank in Taipei said in a statement Thursday. Of the 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, 27 had expected it to leave the key rate unchanged at the highest level since 2008.
Taiwan Dollar Hits Three-Year High on Trade Optimism, Exporters

2 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | Marcus Wong |Betty Hou

Taiwanese one thousand dollar banknotes arranged in Taipei, Taiwan, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. The Taiwan dollar surged as much as 4.8% on Monday, fueled by concerns over the US dollar’s outlook and speculation that Taiwan may let its currency gain as it seeks a trade deal with the US. Photographer: An Rong Xu/Bloomberg(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan’s dollar rallied to the strongest level in three years on global stock inflows, exporters’ sales of the greenback and easing trade tensions.
Taiwan Eases Rules to Help Insurers Cope With Currency Surge

2 weeks ago | news.bloombergtax.com | Betty Hou

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Taiwan Eases Rules to Help Insurers Cope With Currency Surge

2 weeks ago | news.bloomberglaw.com | Betty Hou

Taiwan regulators have moved to help the island’s insurers deal with the impact of a recent surge in the local currency, which had left them with massive paper losses on their foreign holdings. Insurers will be allowed to use six-month average exchange rates when they calculate risk-based capital in their semi-annual reports, the Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement. At present, insurers use the exchange rates of the final day of the reporting period.
Taiwan Eases Rules to Help Insurers Cope With Currency Surge

2 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | Betty Hou

Taiwanese one thousand dollar banknotes Photographer: An Rong Xu/Bloomberg(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan regulators have moved to help the island’s insurers deal with the impact of a recent surge in the local currency, which had left them with massive paper losses on their foreign holdings. Insurers will be allowed to use six-month average exchange rates when they calculate risk-based capital in their semi-annual reports, the Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement.
Taiwan Life Insurers’ $700 Billion Bet on the US Is Backfiring

2 weeks ago | insurancejournal.com | Chien-Hua Wan |Cindy Wang |Betty Hou

For decades, Taiwan’s life insurance companies boasted of above-average returns from their heavy investment in US bonds. That reliance is now a major risk threatening more than $700 billion of assets. Unlike insurers in other countries like Japan where diversification is the norm, Taiwanese firms have more than 90% of their overseas assets denominated in the dollar. This puts them at risk of a long-term decline in the US currency as the appeal of American exceptionalism wanes.
Taiwan Life Insurers’ $700 Billion Bet on the US Is Backfiring

2 weeks ago | news.bloombergtax.com | Chien-Hua Wan |Cindy Wang |Betty Hou

For decades, Taiwan’s life insurance companies boasted of above-average returns from their heavy investment in US bonds. That reliance is now a major risk threatening more than $700 billion of assets. Unlike insurers in other countries like Japan where diversification is the norm, Taiwanese firms have more than 90% of their overseas assets denominated in the dollar. This puts them at risk of a long-term decline in the US currency as the appeal of American exceptionalism wanes.
Taiwan to Restrict Hostile Takeovers in Crowded Financial Sector

2 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | Betty Hou |Cindy Wang

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan regulators announced plans to effectively block hostile takeovers in the island’s crowded financial sector, months after preventing a roughly $4.1 billion deal that would have created Taiwan’s largest financial group. The Financial Supervisory Commission will amend rules to close the door to non-consensual mergers and acquisitions to ensure market stability, it said in a statement late Tuesday.
Taiwan Life Insurers’ $700 Billion Bet on the US Is Backfiring

2 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | Chien-Hua Wan |Cindy Wang |Betty Hou

(Bloomberg) -- For decades, Taiwan’s life insurance companies boasted of above-average returns from their heavy investment in US bonds. That reliance is now a major risk threatening more than $700 billion of assets. Unlike insurers in other countries like Japan where diversification is the norm, Taiwanese firms have more than 90% of their overseas assets denominated in the dollar. This puts them at risk of a long-term decline in the US currency as the appeal of American exceptionalism wanes.
Taiwan Life Insurer Losses Swell to $1.2 Billion in May on FX

2 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | Miaojung Lin |Betty Hou |Chien-Hua Wan

(Bloomberg) -- Losses at Taiwan’s biggest insurers almost doubled in May from a month earlier as historic gains in the local currency dented the value of their foreign investments. Losses for four of the largest reached a combined NT$35.4 billion ($1.2 billion), according to company statements on Tuesday. Among them, Shin Kong Life Insurance Co. posted the largest loss at NT$15.4 billion.