Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/18/2020
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) Yuan deposits held by Taiwanese banks dropped sharply last year to 261.03 billion yuan (US$38.05 billion), as investor confidence in the currency fell due to the trade frictions between the United States and China, according to Taiwan's central bank.

The decline of 37.41 billion yuan from the previous year was the biggest annual drop since the business started in Taiwan in 2013 and the third consecutive year of decline, the central bank said.

Yuan deposits in Taiwan banks were 261.03 billion yuan in 2019, compared with 298.44 billion yuan at the end of the previous year, the data showed.

The central bank said the sharp year-on-year decline reflected caution among investors about the value of the Chinese currency amid the Washington-Beijing trade disputes, an economic slowdown in China, and a slower pace of the efforts by Chinese authorities to internationalize the yuan.    [FULL  STORY]