Taiwan

A senior Taiwanese minister has pressed U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to include the island in the United States' forthcoming Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, his office said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Tai last month declined to say if Taiwan would be invited to join the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific economic plan, spurring Senate criticism that excluding the island would be a missed opportunity.

Taiwan will set up a $1 billion credit program aimed at funding projects by Lithuanian and Taiwanese companies amid economic pressure from China over an office that the island opened in the European Union country, Lithuanian officials said Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. It follows Taiwan’s announcement last week about creating a $200 million investment fund to help Lithuania amid a diplomatic row with Beijing. American and Lithuanian officials say China has blocked imports from the Baltic nation, a close U.S. ally.

Taiwan's TransAsia Airways Corp said on Tuesday it would wind down operations and suspend all scheduled flights, failing to recover from two plane crashes in almost three years, Reuters reported. In addition to struggling to overcome safety concerns raised by Taiwan's regulator, the island's third-largest carrier has been hit by intense competition, reporting losses for the previous six quarters. It shut down its low-cost offering, V Air, last month.

The Consumer Debt Clearance Act (消費者債務清理條例) should be amended to make it easier for debtors to apply for bankruptcy, campaigners said yesterday, adding that the number of applicants have not increased significantly following reforms in 2011, The Taipei Times reported.

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday placed Chaoyang Life Insurance Co (朝陽人壽) under government receivership to prevent further deterioration of the company’s financial condition, the Taipei Times reported.“The company has repeatedly failed to carry out its proposed financial improvement measures and its negative net worth continued to worsen on an annual basis. It was NT$2.2 billion [US$65.23 million] in the red as of last month,” Insurance Bureau Director-General Jenny Lee (李滿治) said at a news conference.

TPK Holding Co (宸鴻), a major supplier of touchpanels for Apple Inc’s iPhone 6S and Watch, yesterday reported a quarterly loss of NT$19.39 billion (US$595 million) due to massive asset impairments, The Taipei Times reported. The company said it is undertaking a drastic restructuring as lackluster demand for touchscreen notebook computers has affected its factory utilization rate, leaving some of its equipment idle. TPK posted NT$18.97 billion in impaired assets last month, mainly from unprofitable and idled equipment.

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday placed Global Life Insurance Co (國寶人壽) and Singfor Life Insurance Co (幸福人壽) under government receivership, as the two insurers had failed to contain financial losses or management malpractices, the Taipei Times reported. “We have no choice but to take the drastic step at 5:30pm to maintain market order and stability,” FSC Chairman William Tseng (曾銘宗) told a news conference.

Global shipping company TMT Group sought bankruptcy protection after failing to restructure its $1.46 billion debt load out of court, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company, which has a fleet of 17 vessels that transport everything from oil to vehicles around the world, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Thursday in Houston, the latest victim of an industry downturn that has left shipping businesses struggling with their balance sheets. In the years leading up to the recession, TMT, like many of its peers, was building up its fleet, placing orders for new ships.

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday said it would extend the government’s receivership of cash-strapped Kuo Hua Life Insurance Co for another year, allowing the receiver more time to secure a buyer, the Taipei Times reported. The move marked the fourth time the receivership has been extended, as the current one is due to expire tomorrow and the receiver — the semi-official Insurance Stabilization Fund — is in the process of arranging an auction in late October. The financial regulator has taken control of the insolvent company since Aug. 4, 2009.