The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday launched a green energy leasing project to help small businesses and commercial building owners access renewable energy more easily.
Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) and Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽), two of the nation’s largest office landlords, support the government’s green energy initiatives and are signing agreements with private energy suppliers to buy green energy or renewable energy certificates (RECs), the ministry said.
The insurers plan to lease the renewable energy they procure to companies renting their office buildings in Taipei’s downtown areas.
Private energy suppliers are to start supplying renewable power next quarter at
Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) expects interest payments from Russia to be late, as Moscow is planning a new payment method and negotiating with custodian banks and international entities such as Brussels-based Euroclear, the company said yesterday.
Many agencies have been involved in the negotiations, and some need to reconfirm the identities of the recipients, Cathay Life executive vice president Lin Chao-ting (林昭廷) said by telephone.
“We expect to receive the payment in rubles,” Lin said.
“We would not risk foreign-exchange losses, because the ruble has recently appreciated against the US dollar,” he added.
Russia is willing to make the payments, but cannot
HARD PRESSED: Holders of Russian debt might be in for a longer wait as Moscow on Monday defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time in a centuryBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporter
EQUITIES
<strong>Foreigners sell more shares</strong>
Foreign investors last week sold a net NT$107.81 billion (US$3.63 million) in local shares after selling a net NT$41.45 billion a week earlier, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday. As of Friday, foreign investors had sold NT$890.04 billion in local shares since the beginning of the year, the exchange said. The top three shares sold by foreign investors last week were United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), while the top three shares bought by foreign investors were Innolux Corp (群創光電), CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控)
Taiwan’s worst COVID-19 outbreak has left the nation’s insurers bracing for more than US$1 billion in claims that the financial regulator is urging them to honor.
Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Thomas Huang (黃天牧) has ordered insurers to pay out on valid COVID-19-related insurance policies after they faced criticism from lawmakers for dismissing claims, canceling policies and delaying payouts.
Insurers are looking to limit their losses on policies after underestimating the extent of the disease.
There are more than 6.3 million still active COVID-19-related policies and another million waiting for approval, the commission said.
As of Monday last week, insurers had paid out more to