Money in Taiwan--is it safe?

Business Money
1

I keep my money in…

  • NT dollars in Taiwan banks
  • foreign currency in Taiwan banks
  • foreign currency in foreign banks
  • a portfolio of securities, bonds, impressive sounding stuff like that
  • cash greenbacks, bars of gold, diamonds
  • paying off mortgage on a local house, expenses for a local business, etc.
  • money? what money?

0 voters

How much of your savings do you suppose it is safe to keep in Taiwan currency? In Taiwan banks?

And how great would you say the risk is of something Bad to happen to either form of money? Like: Argentina-style devaluation, Korean War II, invasion from the mainland, Japanese bank collapse, mega-earthquake, or some similar catastrophe or group of catastrophes.

And then, what do you invest in? U.S. dollars? (The U.S. economy seems vulnerable to war this time, though usually the greenback is a currency of refuge.) Real estate? (But land in Taiwan will probably be worth less later.) Stocks? Gold?

2

Hmmm, I haven’t really thought about whether or not it is safe to keep money in a Taiwan bank. I guess I feel it’s not any safer or any more dangerous than anywhere else…

3

Oh and I think you need to rearrange/reword/rethink your poll (idea) a bit. I do several different things with my money, not just one or two of the items you mention…

4

If I had money to invest, I would spread them as much as possible. That’s the best way of protection. I don’t have that much dough for long-time saving for the moment, so I keep it local.

5

Yes, spreading it around will give you protection alright, but you’ll never make a killing or strike it rich. I think the Euro is looking up. Gold has also been shooting up this past year. If US goes to war, it will sure go higher. Just look at the oil prices.

6

I agree with Mr He. The number one rule of investing is don’t put all your eggs in one basket. And Taiwan is not the safest basket either–earthquakes, typhoons or conflict with China could see your money losing a lot of value very quickly.

7

This was basically my meaning. I think most people would spread their money out a bit, so the poll should be changed around a bit, but that is just my opinion…

8

I thought of that, but couldn’t think of a good solution.

(a) If the program allowed checking multiple boxes, the result wouldn’t serve much of a purpose as a head-count.

(b) A new category of “more than one” would beg the question of which ones. Most of us have at least some NT dollars–if we also have foreign currency, then suddenly 90 % of us end up in the “mixed” category.

© We could interpret the poll to mean, Where do you MOSTLY keep your money? A little awkward, but workable. But what if you keep your savings nicely balanced between different things whose risks offset each other? Do we lump you in with the people who have portfolios of stuff? Or add another category? Maybe some variation of this would be the best solution.

(d) How about an “other” category? Then you could post what you mean exactly down here.

So, what do you suggest?

9

Paid in foreign currency and leave it by that, except what I need for my living here. Once I have accumulated some dollars I will transfer the whole lot back, changing into Euros. Wish the Euro woudn’t become so strong!
Usually I put my money into some fixed deposit but I am considering investing in some property (not in Taiwan though).

10

I keep my money in Taiwan in NT$, not afraid of any bank run. This is not South America.

11

Mostly in NT in multinational banks with Taiwan branches. Some US dollar deposits to hedge against NT drops. Generally, I’m not too concerned about huge currency fluctuations because nothing short of a takeover from China will cause that.

Depends heavily on how much money you have, how much risk you can assume and what kind of return you’re looking for. Low risk/return: US Treasuries. Taiwan stocks if you’re into the quick money (2-3 week maximum). Gold if you like to have the feeling of physical value. 2 months ago, I would’ve said the Euro. However, it has been appreciating a little too quickly against the US dollar.