The latest Hurun Global Rich List 2015 said that Want Want Group Chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明) is the richest man in Taiwan.

Hurun said that Tsai owns a total asset of at least US$10 billion.

The ranking, which was made for billionaires around the world, was compiled and organized by Chinese magazine Hurun Report and sponsored by Star River Property, a Chinese luxury home builder. The annual ranking listed a total of 48 Taiwanese people on this year’s rich man chart. Among them, former Taiwanese vice president Lien Chan (連戰) is the only listed man who is not a businessman but owns a total asset of US$6.1 billion. In addition, Lien is also the first Taiwanese politician to be listed on the Hurun Report.

For those listed Chinese billionaires, the richest man is Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠), chairman of Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Group (HKG: 0001), who has a fortune of US$32 billion.

 Hong Kong real estate tycoon Lee Shau-kee (李兆基) followed Li’s ranking as the second richest Chinese man with US$26.5 billion.

The richest man in China is Hanergy Holdings Chairman Li Hejun (李河君) with total assets of US$26 billion, followed by Dalian Wanda Group (HKG: 3699) Chairman Wang Jianlin (王健林) with US$25 billion and Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) Chairman Jack Ma (馬雲) with his assets of US$24.5 billion.

Bill Gates, Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder, remains on the top of the chart with a fortune of US$85 billion. Carlos Slim Helu, Mexican telecommunications mogul, checks in the second place on the chart with his assets of US$83 billion, followed by American investor Warren Buffett with US$76 billion, Hurun said.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder for Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), is on the 7^th place with US$44 billion.

Hurun said that there are 2,089 people with a fortune of at least US$1 billion, including 537 Americans and 430 Chinese billionaires.

The post Taiwanese Tycoon Tsai Eng-meng is the Richest Man in Taiwan: Hurun appeared first on VR World.

Chinese shopping mall developer Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co (HKG: 3699) became listed on Dec. 23 and was Asia’s biggest IPO this year but its price ended up a 3% plunge when the market was closed.

During a press conference of the IPO, Wang said that the firm is also planning the IPO in Shanghai and it will be happening very soon, while the group is also planning to have IPOs for all its subsidiary companies in the future.

“Fortune is nothing but numbers. It is definitely not my priority to be the richest man in China, but it is my dream to build my company a super international giant of its kind,” Wang said.

A latest research and statistics by the Hurun Report said that Wang Jianlin (王健林), chairman for Wanda, will replace Alibaba Group’s (NYSE: BABA) founder Jack Ma (馬雲) and become the most wealthy man in China if Wanda’s stock price appreciates for more than 30% but it did not happen.

Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin

Hurun Report ranked Wang as the 26^th richest person in the world in 2014, with a total asset of US$25 billion. In 2013, Forbes ranked him as the 128^th richest person in the world, with the asset of US$8.6 billion. In August 2013, Bloomberg listed him as the richest man in China with a total amount of US$14.2 billion. Hurun Report said that his net worth rose to US$22 billion in September 2013. Wang, who owns 98% of the Wanda Group, is currently ranked as the 4^th richest man in China by Forbes.

Alibaba’s stock price, meanwhile, ended up with a 38% appreciation on the first day to be listed on New York Stock Exchange back in September.

The IPO values the company at 8.6 times 2015 earnings forecasts. The Beijing-based firm has China’s largest commercial property portfolio, with 159 Wanda Plaza shopping centers and six Wanda City projects across China.

Fitch Ratings said that the proceeds from the IPO will help reduce Wanda’s leverage from 10.8 times earnings at the end of June to just under seven times by year-end, while net debt is expected to be trimmed to below US$10 billion, from US$13 billion five months ago.

Moody also estimated in a recent report and said that Wanda’s net debt ratio will decline to 38% to 42% at the end of 2014, from 44.5% at the end of June.

“The IPO will reduce Wanda’s reliance on debt funding, thereby enhancing its interest coverage,” Moody’s report said.

The post Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co’s IPO in Hong Kong appeared first on VR World.

Haitong Securities is planning private Hong Kong placement for raising US$3.9 billion

Haitong Securities (HKG: 6837) is planning to sell 1.92 billion additional Hong Kong-listed shares at US$2.08 each in a private placement, a Shanghai Stock Exchange’s statement said on Dec. 22.

Haitong, China’s second-biggest brokerage by market value, aims to raise US$3.9 billion through the placement, which comes as a stock-market boom in China boosts the country’s brokerages. The company will use about 60% of the proceeds to develop its short-selling and margin-trading business and about 10% to replenish working capital, the statement said.

Total revenue for China’s state-owned business grows 3.9%

China’s Ministry of Finance said on Dec. 22 that the growth of the total revenue for the nation’s state-owned companies increased 3.9% during the past 11 months.

The total revenue for all China’s state-owned companies for 2014 reached US$7.4 trillion, the ministry said.

The ministry’s latest statistics showed that the growth for state-owned companies’ revenue has obviously slowed down during the past 11 months, while the same figure showed a 8.2% growth last year.

Among all the companies, industries in traffic, steel, automobiles, and electricity experienced a growing business while coals, chemistry, textiles and petroleum went through a sluggish or going-down business.

Entry-level employees of Taiwan’s post office and railways administration will earn fatter paychecks

Taiwan’s Chunghwa Post Chairman Philip Weng (翁文祺) and Taiwan Railways Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) both said on Dec. 22 that their entry-level employees will begin to earn fatter paychecks since next year.

Weng said that the post office has a total of 26,000 employees but only approximately 4,000 entry-level employees will be subject to the salary raise, which will be 7% more than what they have for now.

For the railways administration, Chou said that most of its staff members were recruited from those who passed the national exams and are regarded as government employees so they have been already assured for a regular salary raise. The plan to raise salary, about 3% to 6% more than the original salaries, was designed for those employees who were not recruited by the system and are also entry-level employees with the administration.

China may have greater steel production volume than what was estimated

China Economic Review reported on Dec. 22 that China may have underestimated its steel production volume, with last year’s crude steel output at 822 million tons which have been over 40 million tons more than official figures.

Quoting the latest report by MEPS, an independent supplier of steel market information, China Economic Review reported that while China’s National Bureau of Statistics has not officially revised 2013 output data, growth rates for January-November this year imply 2013 production was 803 million tons, 24 million tons more than originally reported.

MEPS, which has been tracking China’s steel industry since the late 90s, said it had seen indications of underreporting by at least 30 to 40 million tons annually since 2012.

Chinese President Xi Jinping asks Macau to end dependence on gambling industry

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) urged Macau to get rid of its reliance on gambling industry on Dec. 21.

Macau’s gambling industry has been suffering from Xi’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign. Xi, who has been in town for the re-inauguration of the territory’s Chief Executive Fernando Chui and to mark the 15th anniversary of the territory’s return from Portuguese rule, exhorted the world’s largest casino hub to “push for a healthy economic and social development.”

The president also said that China’s central government would demarcate the maritime zones of Macau, which CLSA analyst Aaron Fischer said could give the territory’s government more control over land reclamation and more space to use for tourist attractions.

The post Cross-strait News Daily Round-up for Dec. 22 appeared first on VR World.

Taiwan’s 4G subscribers will exceed 10 million in 2015: IDC

Market researcher International Data Corp (IDC) said on Dec. 11 that the total amount of the 4G subscribers in Taiwan will top 10 million next year, as telecoms’ flat rates and strong sales of new smartphones, such as the iPhone 6.

IDC originally projected that there could be one million 4G users by the end of 2014 but the actual figures could hit 3.3 million.

“Over the past seven months, the uptake of 4G in Taiwan has been stunning. The growth has greatly surpassed our expectations,” said Andy Ye (葉振南), IDC analyst.

During the first year for 4G operations, Ye said, Taiwan’s 4G penetration rate surged to 11.2%, which was a faster adoption rate than Hong Kong’s 6.7% and Korea’s 2.3% in the early stages of 4G deployment.

The analyst also attributed Taiwan’s rapid uptake to telecoms offering flat rates for unlimited Internet access to grab market share. Also, sufficient and various mobile devices for the 4G system also gave a boost to the business, he said.

Taiwan is the first country in the world to deliver 4G services on the 700MHz bandwidth, he said.

More and more people use their handheld devices to shop online

Ruten.com, an auction website that was established by PC Home Online and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), said on Dec. 11 that its transaction volume increased by 15% year-on-year because of the increasing use of handheld devices.

“More than 75% of buyers browse our page by handheld devices and 45% of them make purchases through smartphones or tablets,” said Vicky Tseng (曾薰儀), chief operating officer for Ruten.

Quoting a recent survey, Tseng said that Ruten’s pageviews via mobile devices surged 87% from last quarter, while the number of unique visitors rose 77% quarterly.

Echoing Ruten’s remarks, International Data Corp (IDC) said that the growth in smartphone and tablet use in the Asia-Pacific region showed that an era of mobile commerce is emerging. The report said that China’s Singles’ Day sales on Nov. 11 saw more than 40% of all transactions completed on mobile devices. For 2015, more than 50% of consumer transactions will be carried out via handheld devices, the report said.

TRI raises Taiwan’s GDP growth forecast

The Taiwan Research Institute (TRI) raised its forecast for the nation’s 2014 GDP growth and expected the pace to gain modestly next year as the global economy enters an era of great moderation.

TRI, a Taipei-based think tank, elevated its projection for GDP growth to 3.36% this year, from 3.1% estimated in June.

Wu Tsai-yi (吳再益), president for TRI, said that U.S. economy’s recovering is favorable for Taiwan’s exports, which was also one of the reasons for the nation’s GDP growth.

Wu said that the GDP growth might rise to 3.43% next year. He said that Taiwan used to outperform the world economy in terms of GDP growth, but the gap has tapered off in recent years, as Taiwanese firms increasingly lose their competitive edge and the government fails to provide substantial assistance.

People’s Bank of China pushes banks to lend more

People’s Bank of China, the nation’s central bank, has increased the nation’s annual new loan target to US$1.62 trillion, from previous local media estimates for the figure.

An anonymous source said that Chinese banks have disbursed US$109.7 billion of loans between January and October so they will have to quicken their pace before the end of this year, if the central bank has indeed raised the target.

The amount of new loans issued by Chinese banks fell by more than a third in October.

Uncertainty for the future Hong Kong electoral reforms

The prospects for compromise over the future of Hong Kong’s electoral system remained unclear after the clearing of Occupy Central’s base camp from Admiralty district, with protesters and government officials’ demands still essentially at odds.

Officials signaled some willingness to negotiate on the makeup of the nominating committee that would vet candidates for chief executive in Hong Kong’s first election in 2017.  But both student protestors and pro-democracy lawmakers said that they will reject any proposal that requires candidates to be approved by a Beijing-controlled nominating committee.

Twelve Chinese IPOs unexpectedly approved

A total of 12 initial public offerings (IPOs) were unexpectedly approved by China’s securities regulator on Dec. 11.

The IPO approvals include budget carrier Spring Airline’s US$234 million listing, and medium-sized Chinese brokerage Guosen.

The regulator’s decision could dampen the surge in China’s stock markets, as the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has spiked over 30% in the last two weeks amid speculation the central bank will further ease monetary policy.

Billions of dollars have flowed into the market, giving the regulator space to accelerate the pace of IPO approval without over-diluting valuations of existing shares.

The post Cross-strait News Daily Round-up for Dec. 12 appeared first on VR World.

Asus earns profits in November

Asus (TPE: 2357) announced on Dec. 8 that the company earned a total of US$1.6 billion in November, due to its roaring smartphone business.

Asus said that the revenue for November was a 5.1% growth, to compare with what it was for October. The total revenue for the first 11 months this year was US$14.5 billion, which was a 2.73% growth, to compare with the total revenue for the same period a year ago.

Asus said that its main income for November came from its sales of smartphones. A total of 1.3 million smartphones were sold within the month, while more than 1 million of them were sold in Asian countries. For December, Asus said that the total revenue will drop but it will all come back again in March.

During the fourth quarter, Asus said that sales of its laptops, smartphones, and tablets have been growing except the CPUs.

Demand for iPhones encourages the nation’s exports: MOF

Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Dec. 8 that the nation’s exports increased 3.7% year-on-year to US$26.68 billion last month due to strong demand for new iPhones.

“Electronics exports continued to grow by double digits last month, led by robust sales of domestic firms, especially in the semiconductor industry, said Yeh Maan-tzwu (葉滿足), director for Department of Statistics.

Yeh said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the major supplier for iPhone 6’s chips, has indicated plans to increase capital investment expenditure for 2015 and suggested the need to expand its capacity to meet orders.

MOF’s report said that electronics exports rose 10.2% to US$8.79 billion in November, making up 32.9% of overall exports. Shipments of optical products increased 11% to US$1.74 billion during the same period, while basic metal products gained 9.5% to US$2.36 billion.

MOF’s report also said that exports came to US$288.2 billion and rose 3.3% from the same period of first 11 months last year, and outpaced the statistics agency’s forecast last month of 3.1% growth for the year. The report said that exports to the United States grew 11.4% to US$3.02 billion last month but the exports to the Europe advanced at a more modest 3.7% at US$2.22 billion.

Exports to China, the nation’s largest trade partner, contracted 0.3% to US$10.82 billion, due to the Chinese economic slowdown, the report said.

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou urges to sign agreements with the EU

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said on Dec. 9 that the nation is hoping to sign more free trade agreements with the EU.

“It will help both GDP grow,” Ma said.

The president made his remarks during his conversations with a group of delegates from French National Assembly, led by Yves Jego. Ma told Jego that he is hoping for more cooperation and interactions with France, as well as other EU members.

“An additional 11 European countries have signed agreements with us so we are expecting when France is in the picture as well,” Ma said.

Hong Kong is the world’s second most expensive place for house prices: survey

The latest “Global Living Survey: Global Cities Compared” ranked Hong Kong as the second most expensive city in a global survey of average prime residential new-build prices, at US$3,290 per square foot.

London took the lead for all the cities in the world with an average of US$3,380 per square foot, while New York checked in the third place with average prices of US$3,040 per square foot.

The survey, organized by international property consultant CBRE, looked at residential prices in 10 key global cities favored by high-net-worth individuals, also including Paris, Sydney and Singapore, among others.

“Depending on market trends, Hong Kong and London regularly oscillated between first and second place in the residential rankings,” CBRE said.

Chinese banks call for lower reserve ratio

Banks in China are urging the nation’s central bank to allow them to lend out more of their deposits, the China Economic Review reported on Dec. 9.

“The radio should be reduced to an ‘appropriate’ level to help banks and support the economy,” said Lian Ping (連平), chief economist for the Bank of Communications (SHA: 601328).

Lian said that the profitability of China’s big banks has come under increasing pressure as a rare drop in bank deposits is forcing lenders to curtail lending or look for more expensive sources of financing. Also, bank executives said that a planned deposit-insurance system and further cuts in interest rates also have the potential to reduce banks’ profit margins.

The post Cross-strait News Daily Round-up for Dec. 9 appeared first on VR World.

Ting Hsin’s promise of NT$3 billion fund will be available: Samuel Yin

Ruentex Group Chairman Samuel Yin (尹衍樑) said on Dec. 8 that Ting Hsin International Group’s promise of US$100 million fund, for necessary cost to maintain the nation’s food security, will be available after the payment of selling its shares of Taipei 101 is received.

Yin, who is now speaking on behalf of the group after the group has been the center of a spate of cooking oil scandals since fall, said that he would believe the Weis, who are his friends and owners of Ting Hsin.

“I would believe the Weis this time,” Yin said.

Yin’s remarks were referred to Ting Hsin’s selling its 37.17% stake in Taipei Financial Center Corp, which operates the Taipei 101, to Malaysia’s IOI Properties Group for US$808.13 million on Dec. 6.

Yin, however, did not comment on the deal, adding that he is not involved in any part of decision making of the case. He said that it is his understanding that Ting Hsin will establish the fund as the priority after the money is deposited, that he will organize another press conference to make it public once it is done.

China’s Small business turn to underground banking: China Economic Review

China Economic Review reported on Dec. 8 that funding costs for small enterprises in China have yet to show any signs of easing despite the nation’s central bank’s interest rate cut last month.

Small firms in China must compete with larger companies and individual borrowers to access funds, resulting in many turning to the underground banking market.

Borrowing rates in the black market in China remain as high as 2% a month, after the central bank decided to decrease the interest rates to 5.6%.

Hong Kong’s new insurance may reduce senior citizen’s health burden

Hong Kong’s lawmakers said on Dec. 7 that Swiss Re’s willing to accept applications from people up to 75 years old will help reduce burden on government medical services.

Swiss Re said that the new plan will be a departure from policies that prevent people older than 60 or 65 from entering into insurance agreements.

Marianne Gilchrist, head for Swiss Re’s health solutions, said that the company received a lot of inquiries from insurers regarding product developments which were targeting senior citizens. Gilchrist said that the new products to be launched will cover cancer only.

Shenzhen Qianhai hub to help Hong Kong young entrepreneurs to start their business

The Shenzhen hub of Qianhai opened a 58,000 square meter area that is designated for young entrepreneurs from Hong Kong to start their business on Dec. 7.

The “Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub” was among a series of 50 initiatives and proposals announced by Shenzhen officials on Thursday to foster cooperation in Qianhai between the service industries of both areas.

The hub includes office and residential buildings as well as education, exhibition and sports facilities. Entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 45 who start businesses there will pay no rent for their first year and will only pay half rent the following year for office and residential space, while they will also enjoy Qianhai’s special 15% profit tax rate. The normal rate is 25%. Individual income tax will be capped at 15%, compared with 45% elsewhere in China.

The post Cross-strait News Daily Round-up for Dec. 8 appeared first on VR World.

Talks between Cathay Pacific and its pilots turn out to be a dead end

Talks between Cathay Pacific Airways (HKG: 293) and its pilots regarding their paychecks turned out to be a dead end on Dec. 3, that more potential flight delays and cancelations can be expected in the near future.

Approximately 1,700 union members from Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United States joined the standoff with Asia’s biggest international carrier and insisted on a work-to-rule campaign.

In October, union members declined an offer from Cathay Pacific Airways of a 10% pay increase over three years.

China Aircraft Leasing plans a US$2 billion investment in Harbin

China Aircraft Leasing Group (HKG:1848) announced its proposal of a US$2 billion investment for an aircraft disassembly operation in Harbin on Dec. 4, two days after it announced that it has completed the purchase of 100 jets from Airbus at a total list price of US$10.2 billion.

China Aircraft Leasing, jointly controlled by China Everbright Group, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp and Friedman Pacific Investment Holdings, said that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with Harbin’s government to undertake an aircraft disassembly project that it planed to make it one of the biggest operations in the world.

Chinese economy rallies in non-manufacturing sectors

A latest data by HSBC (HKG: 0005) on Dec. 3 said that measures of service-sector activity in China showed a marginal improvement in November.

HSBC said that China’s official non-manufacturing PMI rose to 53.9 in November from 53.8 in the previous month. Qu Hongbin (屈宏斌), chief economist for HSBC Hong Kong, described the manufacturing sectors as continuing to experience “sluggish activity,” although the November cut in benchmark interest rates by the People’s Bank of China, the nation’s central bank, is expected to stabilize demand in the short term.

The same data by HSBC showed that private sector activity dropped for the fourth straight month in November, although retail sales figures showed a second straight month of growth and overall retail sales rose 1.4% in October. It undercut claims that the economy was suffering because of the ongoing student-led pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong.

“I just don’t find sufficient evidence that it affects people’s sentiment,” said economist Raymond Yeung from ANZ.

He said that China’s anti-graft drive has been the more important factor in explaining Hong Kong’s weak retail environment this year.

The post Cross-strait News Daily Round-up for Dec. 4 appeared first on VR World.