Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Taiwan raps Fitch for calling it part of China in ratings upgrade

Published 09/10/2021, 05:50 AM
Updated 09/10/2021, 08:16 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Fitch Ratings logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016.  REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Fitch Ratings logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan's government scolded Fitch Ratings on Friday for calling the island part of China for the first time, in an announcement on upgrading Taiwan's economic outlook, and said it was talking to the company about the issue.

China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, has pressured foreign companies to refer to the island as Chinese territory, often using the terminology "Taiwan, China", which they generally do to avoid losing access to the enormous Chinese market.

Fitch's press release used the expression "Taiwan, China" three times, including in the headline, though the statement did make other references to Taiwan without the addition of the word China.

Taiwan's Finance Ministry expressed "deep regret" at the name change and asked Fitch to revert to its previous convention of just using the word "Taiwan".

"The ministry will continue to talk to the company to get them to acknowledge this problem," it added.

A spokesperson for Fitch Ratings said: "The change to our naming convention for Taiwan was an operational decision". It did not elaborate.

The statement was otherwise positive for Taiwan, with Fitch upgrading it to 'AA' from 'AA-' with a stable outlook, saying the economy had outperformed its peers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fitch is not the only ratings agency to refer to Taiwan in this way. Moody's (NYSE:MCO) also uses the formulation "Government of Taiwan, China" in some of its communications.

China's claims over Taiwan are a frequent source of anger in Taiwan, whose people have shown no interest in being ruled by autocratic Beijing.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Fitch Ratings logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016.  REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

The People's Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan, and its government has no say in how the island is governed.

In May 2020, Fitch Bohua Credit Ratings Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fitch Ratings, was granted approval https://www.reuters.com/article/china-pboc-ratings-idUSL4N2CW2W1 by Beijing regulators to operate in China’s $13 trillion onshore bond market, including providing bond ratings.

Latest comments

Like i said, supid taiwanese rather throw $23bln purchase worthless metal weapons from america than using these money for healthcare on their people. Imagine the maintenance and upkeeping costs per year to keep these metal junks running. Ultimately the fools are taiwanese, the winner is american.
Taiwan, China is absolutely 100% the correct wording... 99% of the world sees it as such...
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.