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.

Ping an Insurance raises US$4.7 billion from investors

Ping An Insurance (SHA: 601318) raised a total of US$4.7 billion on Nov. 30 through a private placement of new shares with investors, including Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) Jack Ma (馬雲) and Tencent’s (HKG: 700) Pony Ma (馬化騰).

Privately owned Ping An, which also controls the separately listed Ping An Bank (SHE: 000001) has been among China’s most aggressive groups in pursuing internet finance ventures. Its affiliates include Lufax.com, the peer-to-peer lending platform, and online payment company 1qianbao.com.

KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou steps down for the election defeat

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) offered his resignation as the chairman for the ruling party Kuomintang (KMT) on Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 2) as a gesture of taking responsibilities for KMT’s being trounced during last Saturday’s elections.

During the elections for mayors, city councilors, wardens, etc., the KMT lost major seats, including Taipei mayor, Taoyuan mayor, Keelung mayor and Taichung mayor. KMT Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) immediately resigned, followed by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) as vice chairmen on Dec. 1.

In addition to Hau and Wu, the KMT still has five vice chairmen and women, including Tseng, Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), Chiayi Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強).

By KMT’s regulations, the chairman will be the president when the party is ruling. After Ma quit, an extraordinary meeting must be organized for amending the regulations for electing a new chairman within three months, while one of the vice chairmen will be the acting chairman for the party.

Hung is the priority candidate to take the job at this moment, now that Tseng has declined such allegation.

Taiwan’s PMI shows first contraction during the past two years

The Chunghua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) said on Dec. 1 that PMI declined to 49.2 in November from 51.5 in October, as manufacturers saw a slowdown in business amid a lackluster global economy.

CIER President Wu Chung-shu (吳中書) said that it was the firs contraction since December 2012, with almost all subindices falling below the neutral threshold as inventory-building demand linked to Apple’s new handsets softened.

“The latest PMI value suggests a slowdown in the domestic economy, instead of a downturn due to a lack of seasonal adjustment,” he said.

China tax office plans to monitor foreign firms’ profits

China Economic Review reported on Dec. 2 that the Chinese authorities are planning to put a system in place to monitor the profits of foreign companies to end alleged tax evasion.

An anonymous source said that Microsoft was required to pay more than US$150 million in China last month, while an unnamed foreign company had paid US$137 million in back taxes and interest as well as more than RMB100 million in annual disbursements on Nov. 23.

The report also said that the Chinese authorities will also tighten management of tax practices by Chinese companies abroad.

The post Cross-strait News Daily Round-up for Dec. 2 appeared first on VR World.