Taiwan Financial News

Taiwan’s leading crypto exchange ACE and its masterminds have been accused of making false claims around speculative token listings to defraud investors.

If the most important development of 2024 will be the wave of elections sweeping the democratic world, the second-most important story to watch is China’s economy. It boils down to two questions: What is it that has steeled Xi Jinping’s nerve to drive China into this—possibly necessary—economic turmoil, and can he keep his resolve over the next 12 months? The deterioration of the Chinese economy is, perhaps surprisingly for anything involving China, reasonably well understood. The country has never recovered from the twin shocks of a Beijing-induced property-market slowdown and the draconian (and failed) zero-Covid policy of the pandemic era.

By Ben Blanchard and Sarah Wu

The Bank of China has marked a significant milestone in the realm of digital currency with the completion of the world's first cross-border Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)-powered precious metals deal. On December 20, 2023, the Bank of China's Shanghai branch successfully conducted a 100 million yuan ($14 million) e-CNY CBDC settlement received overseas for gold via the Shanghai Financial Exchange International Board. This historic transaction underlines the growing acceptance and utility of digital currencies in international trade, especially in the precious metals sector.

TAIPEI—Nearly a year after the appearance of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the U.S. sent relations between Beijing and Washington into free fall, high-altitude balloons from China have again been spotted floating over sensitive territory. This time, it is the main island of self-ruled Taiwan, which is days away from holding a presidential election with ramifications for the future of U.S.-China relations.

By Yew Lun Tian and James Pomfret

Investing.com-- Shares of Apple Inc's (NASDAQ:AAPL) biggest Asian suppliers sank on Wednesday, tracking an overnight decline in the iPhone maker after Barclays downgraded the stock citing cooling demand for its flagship product.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, tracking steep overnight losses on Wall Street as markets second-guessed expectations for early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, especially before more key economic cues this week.

Chinese balloons flew across Taiwan island on Tuesday, the Taiwanese defence ministry said, the first time it has reported them crossing the island since reporting a spate of such balloons flying over the Taiwan Strait starting last month. The potential for China to use balloons for spying became a global issue in February 2023 when the United States shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon. China said the balloon was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray. Taiwan is on high alert for Chinese activities, both military and political, ahead of Jan.

The elections year: 2024 is going to be the year of elections. An estimated number of over 4.1 billion people out of the total global population of over 8 billion are living in countries that will go to polls in 2024. According to Bloomberg, countries that contribute 80% of the world market cap and 60% of global GDP will be voting.

America’s polarisation and congressional paralysis. Republicans, especially those of Mr Trump’s “America First" tendency, have grown ever more sceptical about supporting Ukraine in its war. And Congress, unable to pass bills since the removal of the speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, on October 3rd, got a new one, Mike Johnson, only this week.

yellow metal has been impressive, showing a gain of more than 12% this year, and on India’s Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold’s trading value recently stood at a staggering ₹61,221 per 10 grams (as of December 11, 2023). A recent report by the World Gold Council (WGC) highlights that gold’s performance has been bolstered by various global events including the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank, an approaching election year for major economies such as the US, the EU, India, and Taiwan, and the continued demand from central banks.

New Year welcome party is complete without at least a cursory check on annual predictions! And no we are not talking about stock market predictions, or tentative guesses on the release date of your favourite Bollywood movies, but predictions regarding significant events such as war, royal rifts, etc. Curious about how 2024 will unfold? Let Nostradamus, a 16th-century astrologer guide you.

US President Joe Biden on January 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized that history has demonstrated the importance of maintaining mutual respect and peaceful coexistence as the correct approach for fostering positive relations between China and the United States, Bloomberg reported. This comes as both nations work towards repairing their strained diplomatic ties.

'China's 'reunification' with Taiwan inevitable': Xi during New Year's speech Asked about Xi's speech at a New Year's press conference at the presidential office in Taipei, Tsai said the most important principle on what course to follow on relations with China was democracy. "This is taking the joint will of Taiwan's people to make a decision. After all, we are a democratic country," she said.

Xi Jinping Sunday said China's "reunification" with Taiwan is inevitable--striking a stronger tone than last year--while addressing the nation in a speech marking the New Year, ahead of the general elections in the Chinese-claimed island to elect a new leader, Reuters reported. Beijing claims Taiwan to be its "sacred territory".

China's «reunification» with Taiwan is inevitable, President Xi Jinping said in his New Year's address on Sunday, striking a stronger tone than he did last year with less than two weeks to go before the Chinese-claimed island elects a new leader. The Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are happening at a time of fraught relations between Beijing and Taipei. China has been ramping up military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over democratically governed Taiwan.

index touched a 33-year high, Hong Kong rounded out its fourth straight year of decline and India emerged as a leader in IPOs, Nikkei reported. One of the biggest drivers behind this divergence was disappointment in China's post-Covid recovery. Hong Kong's flagship Hang Seng Index (HSI), which tracks 80 blue chip stocks, has dropped 13.8 per cent this year, its first four-year losing streak since its launch in 1969, Nikkei reported. As investors shift away from greater China, their attention is moving to Japan, India and the tech hubs of Taiwan and South Korea. The major indexes in these markets rose by more than double digits in 2023, with Japan's Nikkei 225 leading the pack at nearly 30 per cent, Nikkei reported. The comeback of Japanese shares was a result of multiple factors, including improved corporate governance, something the country's regulators have been working on for over a decade in hopes of stimulating investment from abroad. BlackRock this month reaffirmed its «overweight» position on Japanese equities for the next six to 12 months.

Earthquake of magnitude 6.2 jolts Indonesia's Irian Jaya An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 killed at least 15 people, and damaged houses and buildings in the coastal Guayas region. A strong earthquake struck Morocco in September 2023. The Al Haouz earthquake, named after the Moroccan province most impacted by the shaking, occurred on September 8 with violent tremors near its epicentre and very strong ones in the city of Marrakesh.

Xi Jinping's military modernization drive amid geopolitical tensions, analysts say. China's top lawmakers ousted nine senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday, state media reported, a step that typically precedes further punishment for wayward cadres. Many of these were from the Rocket Force — a key arm of the PLA overseeing tactical and nuclear missiles. The purges are a setback for Xi who has pumped billions into buying and developing equipment as part of his modernising efforts to build a «world-class» military by 2050, with Beijing's outsized defence budget growing at a faster pace than the economy for some years. The recent downfall of generals and military equipment suppliers, however, has punctured some of this aura, and raised questions over whether there has been adequate oversight over these massive military investments as China vies with the United States in key areas, including Taiwan and the South China Sea. Since Xi took power in 2012, he has embarked on a wide-ranging anti-corruption crackdown among Communist Party and government officials, with the PLA being one of its main targets. The nine PLA generals removed from the legislature hailed from several military divisions; three were former commanders or vice commanders of the PLA Rocket Force; one a former Air Force chief and one a Navy commander responsible for the South China Sea. Four officers were responsible for equipment. «It is a clear sign that they are being purged,» said Andrew Scobell, Distinguished Fellow for China at the United States Institute for Peace.

Asian shares are mixed in muted trading on the last trading day of the year