Good afternoon, everyone. To all our investors, analysts, and members of the press, welcome to KGI Financial Holding's earnings call for the first half of 2026. Today's session has two parts. In the first part, the management teams of the holding company and of our main subsidiaries will walk you through our key results and our strategic direction. The second part is the Q&A, where we welcome questions from the guests here in the room. If you are joining us online, please feel free to submit your questions through the WebEx question panel. Now, please turn to page five. Slide five: KGI Financial Holding operating performance. KGI Financial Holding delivered net profit of TWD 28.4 billion in the first half of 2026, with earnings per share of TWD 1.64. On top of that, we realized TWD 39.3 billion of disposal gains on FVOCI equities, gains that are distributable earnings.
Combined with net profit, that brings the total to TWD 67.8 billion, or TWD 3.96 per share, a record high for a first half. This was driven mainly by the world's major tech companies continuing to expand their AI investment, which powered a very strong capital market. Turning to the subsidiaries. At the Securities company, first-half earnings hit a record, growing 383% year-on-year. As the second largest broker in Taiwan, KGI benefited not only from the AI-driven market rally but also directly from a surge in trading. Average daily turnover in the Taiwan market rose 180% versus the same period last year, from TWD 447 billion in the first half of 2025 to TWD 1.25 trillion in the first half of 2026. Our underwriting business was also outstanding, ranking number one in the industry by underwriting amount, and the strong share price performance of the related positions delivered sizable valuation gains.
At the life company, first-half earnings, including realized disposal gains on FVOCI equities, reached TWD 48.25 billion, also a record high for a first half. Importantly, the unrealized FVOCI gains still on the books today are even larger than the amount we have already realized year-to-date. It is worth highlighting that Securities and Bank together earned TWD 22.2 billion in the first half, up from TWD 7.1 billion a year ago, a 213% increase. That already exceeds their combined full-year 2025 earnings of TWD 18.3 billion. This strong earnings power lays a solid foundation for the holding company's dividend capacity. In addition, helped by the recovery in the valuation of OCI financial assets and by a lower fair value on the liability side, the holding company's net worth reached TWD 469.2 billion at the end of June, an increase of TWD 141.8 billion from the end of 2025. Now please turn to page six.
The holding company's double leverage ratio came down further to 114%, and each of our subsidiaries maintained a healthy capital adequacy ratio. KGI Securities, seeing strong opportunities in the capital market, has proactively issued debt to strengthen its long-term working capital. In the first half, it issued TWD 3.7 billion of subordinated debt and TWD 9.1 billion of corporate bonds, with further issuance planned for the second half. This will further expand its business scale and reinforce its growth momentum. For KGI Life, the TIS was originally applied for at 140%. Based on our internal calculations, we have exceeded the required annual amortization every year. With Life's net worth increasing by TWD 130 billion in the first half, the capital gap under the transitional measure has narrowed further. Compared with last year, there should be room to raise the dividend that Life upstreams to the holding company.
Good afternoon, everyone. I will now walk you through KGI Life's strategic direction and overall operating results for the second quarter of 2026. Please turn to page eight. KGI Life continues to pursue its strategy across four dimensions: digital, innovation, sustainability, and finance, and the company as a whole has delivered impressive results. First, a point I want to share. Starting last year, KGI Life recognized the strong momentum in domestic and international investment markets and actively positioned the broker and agency channels to promote investment-linked products. That strategy has produced very strong growth this year. It has brought in the first-year premium income, and it has generated fee income as well. Because most of these investment-linked products are variable universal life products, they have also contributed to our core business CSM. These investment-linked products have truly delivered a double win, both fee income and CSM.
Responding to Taiwan's aging society and falling birthrate, KGI Life is actively pursuing a second growth curve and will launch a big health strategy. In active support of the government's Healthy Taiwan policy, we have partnered with international strategy consultants to map out a big health blueprint and to build an all-age health ecosystem, innovating and transforming our products, channels, and services to help customers manage both their health and their financial planning. This strategy also includes the prime land parcel in Taipei's Xinyi District, the former Land Bank Warehouse Site C, where we secured a 70-year surface right for TWD 10.1 billion, along with our positioning in other locations. We plan to develop these into flagship-grade wellness residences, creating a high-quality living environment through KGI Life's Wellness Ecosystem.
KGI Life is also responding to policy by developing wealth management business for high net worth VVIP clients under Taiwan’s Asian Asset Management Center initiative; promoting wealth succession and a new line of business: premium financing. This new premium financing business began to show results in early June. First year premium income from premium financing was around TWD 2.8 billion in the January to June period, and by August it had grown to about TWD 3.4 billion with a further TWD 4.8 billion under review—roughly 20% of our total traditional product premium income. Beyond our own channels we are already working with 20 banks to drive this business, and we expect it to scale up quickly. It has become a powerful new growth engine for our traditional product performance. KGI Life keeps using digital tools to sharpen operating efficiency.
We have deployed a range of digital tools across our own channels as well as bank and broker agency channels to support productivity. Whether it is a new policy application, a policy change on an in-force contract or a claims application, the turnaround time and the quality of processing keep improving, and the results have earned strong recognition. In this virtuous cycle, we are genuinely achieving a triple win: stronger channel competitiveness, a better customer experience, and greater operating efficiency. Beyond our core financial results and business development, KGI Life is also fully committed to giving back through finance. This includes donations to disadvantaged groups in society and micro insurance policies that help them obtain basic protection. KGI Life has been steadily expanding this commitment for 12 consecutive years.
We now partner with seven counties and cities providing microinsurance protection to 100,000 people. In the first half of this year, we had already reached 133.7% of the target set by the Insurance Bureau, ranking number one in the industry. Now please turn to page nine. On this page you can see KGI Life's eight key financial and business indicators. In the first half of this year we delivered a strong scorecard on every one of them. I will now go through them one by one. Now please turn to page 10. First half net profit was TWD 9.2 billion or TWD 1.76 per share. Adding the TWD 39.05 billion of disposal gains on FVOCI equity instruments, the total reached TWD 48.2 billion. On that basis ROE was 34.3%, a record high. Now please turn to page 11.
First Year Premium grew 63% year-on-year to TWD 60 billion, and Total Premium grew 27.5% year-on-year. Executing our strategy to strengthen operating resilience, foreign currency policies as a share of Traditional Products rose from 36% last year to 54%. Our multi-channel development stayed well balanced with First Year Premiums split roughly 1/3 , 1/3 , 1/3 across channels. Now please turn to page 12. New business CSM contributed TWD 15.8 billion in the first half. We released TWD 7.5 billion into earnings, an annualized amortization rate of 6.4%, and the CSM balance reached TWD 243.6 billion at the end of the first half. Now please turn to page 13. The capital market was buoyant in the first half and our total investment return reached 6.69%, a record high. Now please turn to page 14.
With a constructive view on the domestic equity market and as rising markets lifted our holdings value, we increased our equity weighting to 12.6%, with a 38% return. Real estate investment rose to 4.1%, mainly reflecting the Land Bank Warehouse Site C that we acquired earlier this year. As part of our resilient strategy, interest Income and maturities on the overseas bond backing our NT dollar policies are being repatriated over time, bringing the overseas bond weighting down to 65.9% and gradually reducing the currency mismatch between assets and liabilities. Now please turn to page 15.
The recurring yield before hedging was 3.49%; lower than the same period last year. The main reason is that as the equity market rose, the denominator increased sharply while the numerator did not rise by the same proportion because dividends had not yet been collected. Under the new FX volatility reserve mechanism, our hedging cost came down to 1.17%. Our hedged position is around 40%, mainly through swaps. The balance of the FX volatility reserve reached TWD 49 billion. With that, I will hand over to President Lin of KGI Bank.
Now let me share the bank's operating performance for the first half. Now please turn to page 18. On profitability, first half net profit reached TWD 4.28 billion, up nearly 30% year-on-year, and ROE rose from 9.2% a year ago to 11.1%.
Profit and shareholder returns hit new highs together driven mainly by steady growth in wealth management fee income and by wider spreads from an optimized asset allocation. Concrete evidence that the bank is delivering on revenue mix transformation and improved operating efficiency. Now please turn to page 19.
Total fee income grew 24% year-on-year, and within that wealth management fees grew 30%. This high growth over several years shows our wealth management transformation has entered a phase of steady development. At the same time, NIM continued to improve to 1.43%, up 10 basis points year-on-year, reflecting the simultaneous optimization of our asset and deposit structures and our ability to keep spreads steady even as the rate environment shifts. Now please turn to page 20. On deposit growth and the demand deposit ratio under the One KGI strategy through the migration of security settlement accounts, more settlement counters, and the bank's own digital acquisition, deposit balances grew 9% year-on-year with demand deposits up 13%. That lifted the demand deposit ratio from 43.8% a year ago to 45.4% today.
Going forward, the team aims to keep optimizing our deposit structure, raise the demand deposit ratio, and lower our funding costs. Now please turn to page 21. Finally, let me summarize the bank's overall first half performance in one page of eight key indicators. The top four boxes show profitability: net profit up 27% year-on-year, and ROE lifted to 11.1%. Pre-provision profit and our core wealth management fee income grew 19% and 30%, respectively. The bottom four boxes show operating momentum; With a continuously optimized funding structure, first half NIM improved 10 basis points to 1.43%, and the demand deposit ratio rose 160 basis points to 45%. On customer acquisition new retail deposit customers reached 79,000, up 67% year-on-year, and Hong Kong customers exceeded 530, up 163% year-to-date, clear proof of the bank's progress in customer development.
Next I will report on KGI Securities business results for the first half of 2026. Now please turn to page 23. Enhancing our Digital Platform and Segmented Wealth Management Service. KGI Securities keeps refining its digital trading platform and improving the customer experience. This year, under the theme of 'A brand-new interface, a brand-new experience, a brand-new journey,' we redesigned our flagship app and the first wave of the revamp is now live - A fully upgraded personalized My Homepage that lets investors build their own investment interface around their habits and needs. On the wealth management side, we stay client centric tailoring advisory services to different segments. Our private banking clients use Rich Life, a financial planning system built in partnership with UBS offering world class customized portfolio management based on each client's asset allocation and risk appetite.
This year, KGI Securities became the first broker in Taiwan to win FinanceAsia's Best Private Bank in Taiwan award, recognition of our professional wealth management service. Digital and data-d riven customer expansion. We continue to reach younger customers through campus outreach and we build alliances with ecosystem partners so that financial services fit more naturally into everyday life. We also keep producing our own online media programs where KGI analysts translate research into clear, vivid, easy to understand language for the investing public, expanding our Asia Pacific platform business. In overseas wealth management, we are actively expanding world-class wealth management sales teams in Hong Kong and Singapore and integrating regional resources across research product solutions and financial and wealth advisory to offer client centric all round wealth management advice.
In overseas institutional business, we keep strengthening our ability to issue cross border financial products and expand our distribution channels. We are building a prime services platform to act as a hub connecting global markets and exchanges, giving institutional clients a more diverse product and service architecture. One KGI cross -selling. We keep deepening cooperation with KGI Bank and KGI Life. The bank and securities continue to integrate across digital and physical channels, including co located sites, bank settlement counters within securities branches and a smoother online account opening journey to deepen two way referrals and give customers better integrated financial services. We are also advancing joint life and security selling, extending securities advisory into the life insurance channel through KGI Life's excellent sales force.
Overseas, through our international wealth management team, we cultivate high net worth clients, combine this with the cash management services of KGI Bank's Hong Kong branch and integrate our own Asia Pacific platform, including the OSU, the Kaohsiung Asset Management Center, and the Hong Kong and Singapore platforms to deliver one stop cross border financial solutions. Now please turn to page 24. Here you can see KGI Securities' highlights for the first half. Benefiting from a Taiwan market that rose in both price and volume, every one of our business lines performed well. Net profit reached TWD 17.94 billion, up 383% year-on-year. An annualized ROE was 48.1%, leading our peers and ranking first among the large brokers. Our equity underwriting was outstanding in the first half thanks to a precise strategic focus on core industries like AI and semiconductors.
We captured a 40% market share of total lead underwriting amount, firmly number one in the industry, which lifted fee income to a new high. Because of our insistence on deal quality and our longstanding industry expertise that showed up directly in our returns, capital gains on our underwriting positions also hit a record in the first half. KGI Securities also ranked first in bond underwriting market share in the first half.
Our Hong Kong equity brokerage business was recently promoted into the ranks of A-grade brokers, while our Singapore equity brokerage moved into the top five, marking a new milestone in our overseas footprint. Now please turn to page 25. To recap: first half net profit was TWD 17.94 billion, up 383% year-on-year with an annualized ROE of 48.1%, better than the industry average. Our 41% market share of lead equity underwriting amount ranked first, driving record underwriting fees and related net investment income. Brokerage ranked a steady number two in the industry, continuing to benefit from this year's active Taiwan market. Our wealth management AUM grew 39% year-on-year to TWD 414.4 billion, with related revenue up 61%.
Good afternoon, everyone. Next, I will report on KGI SITE, our investment trust, and its business results for the first half of 2026. Now please turn to page 29.
Let me first explain KGI SITE's strategic direction and key achievements. Since 2018, we first focused on institutional demand for fixed income ETFs, building our scale and our professional foundation. From 2022, we established a dual-engine strategy of institutional plus retail. The institutional business keeps providing differentiated investment products and solutions. The retail business runs a two-track model direct-to-clients plus channel-to-clients, cultivating direct customers on one side and deepening cooperation with bank and securities distribution channels on the other to expand our customer base together. To support both engines, we focus on four core capabilities: products and solutions, brand, digital, and One KGI. On products, we keep upgrading our products and services. On brand, through our Narrative Taiwan, Invest Taiwan Forum and the MINE platform, we build professional thought leadership and deepen client engagement.
On digital, we have adopted AI productivity tools, strengthened AI governance, and launched an electronic trading platform project for high-net-worth clients. On One KGI, we deepened cooperation with KGI Life. The NT dollar discretionary account grew from TWD 3.8 billion at launch to TWD 11.26 billion by the end of June. Now please turn to page 30. Now to the main results for the first half of 2026. As of the end of June, KGI SITE's total AUM reached TWD 530.8 billion, up 69% from the end of last year and up 86% year-on-year. ETF beneficiaries reached 1.241 million, and Taiwan equity AUM reached TWD 216.1 billion, becoming this year’s main growth engine. In 2026, focusing on the Taiwan equity battleground, we launched two complementary flagship ETFs: Fund 009816 listed on February 3rd with TWD 9 billion.
By August 21st, its AUM had reached TWD 183.7 billion, 20.4 x its size at listing, ranking ninth among all 348 ETFs in the market and the largest of all newly issued ETFs this year. Fund 00407A listed on June 24th with TWD 8 billion. By August 21st, its AUM reached TWD 26.7 billion, ranking eighth among the 22 Taiwan equity active ETFs. Together, the two products exceed TWD 210 billion, forming a complete lineup: a market cap ETF as the core allocation, plus an active ETF pursuing excess return. Now please turn to page 31. In January 2018, our public fund AUM was just TWD 6.9 billion, ranking 31st in the industry. In June 2019, we passed TWD 100 billion for the first time, and by the end of June 2026, public fund AUM had reached TWD 518.7 billion, with our ranking rising to ninth in the industry. This growth came in two stages.
In the first stage, we built scale and expertise through institutional fixed income ETFs. In the second, we developed the institutional and retail dual engine, further expanding our product lineup, channel cooperation, and customer base. Growing from TWD 6.9 billion to TWD 518.7 billion from 31st to ninth reflects not just an increase in scale, but the continuous upgrading of KGI SITE's business model and core capabilities. Now please turn to page 32. In the first half of 2026, KGI SITE's ETF units grew 114%, well above the industry's 14%, and our ETF AUM grew 69%, also above the industry's 46%. Our ETF beneficiaries rose from about 238,000 at the end of 2025 to 1.241 million by the end of June 2026, showing that our scale and customer base are growing together. On product lineup, through 009816 and 00407A this year, we moved further into the Taiwan equity ETF battleground.
009816 responds to investors' need to accumulate assets over the long term with a no-distribution reinvest design. 00407A, through active stock selection, offers the chance to pursue excess return. This means our ETF lineup has extended from a fixed income strength into a complete platform spanning multi-asset and Taiwan equity ETFs. What we pursue is not just short-term scale growth, but staying focused on customer needs, integrating products, brand digital capability, and group resources to build long-term trust and help our customers toward an abundant future. Thank you.
Good afternoon, everyone. First, let me walk you through China Development Capital's strategic direction and its key progress in the first half of 2026. Now please turn to page 34. Continuing to expand our AUM and our base of stable income is CDIB Capital's established long-term direction and in line with the group's One KGI strategy, we are launching a differentiated alternative asset management platform. On asset management, as of the first half of 2026, external AUM reached TWD 62.1 billion. Including our proprietary investments, total investment scale has passed the TWD 100 billion mark. On the proprietary side, capital is allocated roughly 40% to Taiwan, 40% to international markets, and 20% to China and Hong Kong. On the external asset management side, the focus remains Taiwan plus at over 61%.
New fundraising in the first half added about TWD 1.3 billion, and several new funds are still being raised totaling more than TWD 10 billion. First half stable income was slightly behind schedule as some funds entered the later stage where management fees stepped down and as part of our private credit position was repaid. In the second half, we will accelerate the launch of new funds and the promotion of other stable income businesses. On the investment side, the overall portfolio appreciated 5.6% in the first half with listed positions up more than 16%, outperforming the MSCI Index. As a core strategy, China Development Capital keeps cultivating the industry chains that are globally competitive for Taiwan or that are strategic priorities for the government, including teams at home and abroad with a Taiwan element and the related cross-border investment opportunities.
At the same time, we help companies achieve transformation and growth through investment connecting Taiwan's industries to global growth and new technology trends. Given the Asia Pacific region's demand for the dual transformation, we continue to expand our infrastructure business across the region. On One KGI combining the group's insurance, corporate banking, underwriting, and securities investment services, we offer family business owners and top tier high net worth families cross generational solutions, family business succession wealth management and family office services. We have launched diverse product lines including overseas venture capital, private equity, asset backed securities, and deep tech/fintech funds of funds making us a differentiated alternative asset management platform in the market today.
Today, China Development Capital has a professional investment team of more than 100 people and for three consecutive years it has won the Taiwan Venture Capital Association's awards for Best Investment Institution, Innovative Investment Institution and Professional Manager.
We continue to bring in AI and digital tools to make our investment and management processes smarter improving decision quality and organizational efficiency. Please turn to page 35. First half net profit was TWD 750 million with an annualized ROE of 4.8%. On fundraising, in the first half we completed the final close of the new U development fund at TWD 1.16 billion and the CDIB AIM Fund in partnership with Global Auto Brand held its first close in May and qualified as a matching investor under the National Science and Technology Council's Smart Robotics Investment Program. In addition, several new funds continue to advance including the Healthcare Fund III , the Taiwan Global Smart Manufacturing Fund, NexGen Fund II , the CDIB- Marubeni Energy Fund, and the Taiwan Innovation & Technology Fund of Funds.
Funds in the pipeline exceed TWD 10 billion laying the foundation for future AUM growth and stable income. Next, I would like to hand over to Paul Yang, CEO of KGI Financial.
Thank you to the presidents of our subsidiaries for those detailed briefings. Before we move into the Q&A, allow me to give a summary of today's content and to share the topic that investors care about most: our dividend policy. In the first half of this year, every one of KGI Financial Holding's subsidiaries achieved outstanding business growth and each set a new milestone in earnings.
KGI Financial Holding's net profit together with the disposal gains on FVOCI equities reached TWD 67.8 billion in total, also a record high for a first half in the holding company's history. This brought the holding company's net worth to nearly TWD 470 billion, making our capital base even more solid. Beyond capturing the opportunities from the capital market and from economic growth, we have also demonstrated the results of close cross-subsidiary collaboration in the way we serve our customers. Under the One KGI strategy, the number of customers who have multiple business relationships with subsidiaries across the group has grown by 20% compared with the end of 2024. Among our customers, those who do business with both the bank and the securities company at the same time grew at an even faster rate, 35%. Through teamwork and client referrals across our subsidiaries, KGI Bank and KGI Securities have each brought more than TWD 30 billion of AUM into the group. The investment-linked policies, developed jointly by KGI Life and KGI Securities, also delivered impressive results.
On the overseas front, through referrals from our OBU, our OSU, and KGI Securities Hong Kong, our Hong Kong branch has seen both its customer count and its deposits grow severalfold within just one year of opening. One KGI allows us to turn one customer into a relationship with the entire group, and that is precisely the source of our earnings resilience. Over the past year, we have fully embedded AI across our front, middle, and back-office operations. From customer service to risk management and administrative work, we are already seeing tangible results, and we have rolled out a range of innovative applications across our subsidiaries. At the same time, we continue to strengthen our colleagues' AI capabilities through training so that AI is genuinely woven into their daily work. Going forward, we will further reinforce our integrated cloud and on-premises infrastructure to support cross-subsidiary digital collaboration under One KGI.
We will also build a more robust AI governance and risk control framework to ensure that our applications are safe and compliant. With talent and infrastructure advancing hand in hand, we believe AI will become a key engine driving scalable innovation and growth across the group. Finally, I know what everyone cares about most is the dividend. For the earnings upstreamed by the bank and the securities company, our principle remains 70%, but we will make sure each subsidiary retains enough capital to support continued business growth. For KGI Life, the detailed upstreaming rules will only become clear closer to year end, and the overall direction will be tied to the TIS—the transitional measure. In the first half of this year, KGI Life’s net worth increased by around TWD 130 billion. We therefore take a more optimistic view on the flexibility of its upstreaming.
Compared with the previous level of 10%, we look forward to room for further improvement. Thank you, everyone! We will now move into the Q&A session.
We will now begin the Q&A session. Please note: The first questions come from JP Morgan. First, on KGI Life: Will the first-year premium product mix in the second half differ much from the first half? What was the composition of the first-half new contract CSM of TWD 15.8 billion? Second, the operating variance was positive in the first quarter, so why does the first-half presentation show a small negative figure? Third, KGI Life realized a large amount of equity gains in the first half. How much unrealized gain remained on the FVOCI equities at the end of June, and what has been the latest situation in July and August? Fourth, on KGI Bank, what is the full-year NIM guidance? Is there a chance it could exceed 1.45%? Will the second half be better than the first?
Fifth, with corporate loan growth stronger than expected, will KGI Bank raise its full-year loan growth target? Sixth, a 70% upstream from the bank and the securities company is the policy target, but the securities company’s capital needs are high, can it really upstream 70% this year? Seventh, apart from special years, the holding company’s payout ratio has almost never fallen below 40%. Can 40% be treated as a reference floor?
Management responses. On the FYP product mix and new contract CSM, in the first half, thanks to a favorable investment environment, investment-linked products sold very strongly. If that market tone continues, investment-linked products should remain strong sellers in the second half. In addition, higher CSM accident and h ealth and high coverage products are expected to do better in the second half than in the first, and the share of participating policies should gradually rise.
Of the TWD 15.8 billion of new contract CSM in the first half, traditional protection and high coverage products such as A&H contributed over 70%, while investment-linked products accounted for around 10%. On the operating variants, the small negative figure in the presentation mainly reflects products measured under the GMM. If we include products measured under the PAA and other insurance service results, management estimates the overall first-half variance was around positive TWD 500 million. On the unrealized FVOCI equity gains, at the end of June, the unrealized gain on FVOCI equities was around TWD 75 billion. It came down in July because of market volatility but rebounded quite significantly in August. On the full-year NIM guidance, NIM was around 1.37% in 2025, and our original 2026 guidance was around 1.40%. First-half 2026 NIM already reached 1.43%, and we expect to hold around 1.43% in the second half.
We are therefore raising the full-year guidance to around 1.43%, with a chance to challenge a higher level. On the corporate lending target, we are not raising it for now; our full-year corporate loan growth guidance stays at high single digits. The bank does not simply pursue scale; we place greater emphasis on capital efficiency, spreads, overall returns, and the value of customer relationships. On the 70% upstream, a 70% upstream from the bank and securities remains our policy target, but the actual amount will depend on operating and capital needs at the time.
If a subsidiary needs a capital increase, the holding company’s principle is that it must have an immediate deployment opportunity where the funds can be put to work right away, the returns must meet our standards, it must not hurt EPS, and it must not affect our ability to pay next year’s cash dividend. On a 40% payout floor, management has not committed to 40% as a floor, but the president stated clearly that KGI Financial Holding will absolutely not fall behind. Our double leverage ratio has improved markedly versus the past, so the holding company has more room to adjust its leverage. The final dividend will still be affected by Life's upstreaming and by the degree of regulatory approval.
The next question comes from President Securities. On the full-year NIM of 1.43%, does that include swaps? If we look at the book NIM excluding swaps, roughly what would it be?
Management responses. The 1.43% published for the first half does include swaps, but the swap impact on KGI Bank's overall scale is small. If we exclude the swap gains, the actual NIM would in fact be higher than 1.43%.
The next questions come from Capital Investment Trust. First, KGI Financial Holding is investing heavily in AI. How does AI actually create cash flow, and is management confident in its long-term commercialization? Second, the wave of AI investment has the securities bank and insurance businesses all competing for funding. Could the group face a funding shortfall? Third, are hyperscalers heavy bond issuance crowding out the traditional bond market, and how is KGI Life responding? Fourth, with the market this hot, does KGI Financial Holding have any M&A plans?
Management responses. On how AI creates value, management sees AI in stages. Stage one is cost reduction and efficiency. Many AI tools can already directly lift efficiency and cut costs. Stage two is AI as a changing agent. In future, it will not just be a tool, but will reshape workflows, organizational structure, the content of customer service, and financial service models. Stage three is a change in the talent structure. Today, a good talent is someone who can solve problems, but in future, a good talent will be someone who knows which problems to solve. KGI will not pour huge sums into building its own frontier model. Every AI deployment must have a clear ROI. We will also build on-premises LLMs and infrastructure, both because of cloud model costs and because financial data cannot all be put on the cloud.
On a possible funding shortfall, management acknowledges that funding across the financial market is genuinely very tight right now because AI supply chain companies are expanding capacity and need bank financing. Security clients need large amounts of margin and general purpose lending. The U.S. government and hyperscalers are issuing bonds on a massive scale, creating a clear crowding out effect in global bond markets. Even so, management believes the funds being raised can all be quickly deployed into businesses with good marginal returns. This is more a case of strong demand for high ROI capital than a funding gap to patch up the balance sheet. In addition, when a securities client has a non-investment borrowing need, that can be referred through One KGI to KGI Bank, turning a funding constraint at securities into a cross-subsidiary collaboration opportunity.
On the crowding out effect, management agrees there is already a very clear crowding out in the U.S. dollar bond market. Mega-financing by the U.S. government and by large hyperscalers is squeezing out the financing needs of ordinary financial institutions and corporates. KGI Life has therefore reduced part of its overseas bond investment and repatriated funds to Taiwan, deploying them into Taiwan equities and real estate. Management believes that as long as hyperscaler's AI investment continues to deliver high ROI, this high CapEx, high issuance environment could healthily continue for some time. On M&A plans, management says it is always evaluating any possible opportunity, with a particular focus on the banking side. The president put it this way: if the holding company is a large tree, the bank is its roots because the bank has the most frequent contact with customers.
If a suitable M&A opportunity arises, we will evaluate it. If not, we will expand the banking business through organic growth, new branch applications, and fintech. A follow-up question, also from Capital Investment Trust. Even if funding is needed, investors still hope the cash dividend will not be sacrificed. How does the company view this? Management responses. Management says it has very clearly received this message, and financially it keeps reviewing whether the holding company's own cash is sufficient to support next year's cash dividend. In other words, even with capital increases, subordinated debt or other fundraising, avoiding any impact on the cash dividend is one of our important financial constraints. The next questions come from The Storm Media. First, KGI Life's TWICS capital adequacy management target is 140%. What was the actual figure at the end of June?
Second, under the new rules, how is the dividend that life upstreams to the holding company calculated, and can it at least be maintained at the 2025 upstreaming level? Third, what is KGI Securities' latest capital adequacy ratio, and will it need a cash capital increase, subordinated debt, or syndicated loans? Fourth, what was the holding company's adjusted EPS for January to July? Fifth, Fubon has discussed 40% and Cathay around 30%. When KGI says it will not fall behind, what does that actually mean? 30% to 40%? Management responses. On the TWICS ratio, the end June figure has not yet been formally filed, so we cannot give a precise number.
Because of the annual amortization and the first-half stock market rally, which increased risk-weighted assets, the ratio is slightly lower than before, but management stresses it remains very close to TWD 140 billion at the end of 2025 to around TWD 370 billion at the end of June 2026, an increase of about [TWD 120 billion] in half a year. Fundraising sources are now diversified across maturities, including bank borrowing, RP, CP, syndicated loans, structured products, medium and long-term debt, and subordinated debt. The capital adequacy ratio filed in July exceeded 260%, and our capital metrics still carry a buffer. Further subordinated debt issuance is planned for the second half. Whether the holding company needs to inject further capital into securities is under close discussion between the two sides. On the adjusted EPS, management defines this as net income plus realized capital gains.
On that basis, adjusted EPS for January to July was TWD 4.41 per share. On what will not fall behind means, management still declines to commit to a fixed payout ratio because how much Life can upstream still depends on the regulator. That said, the company is optimistic that this year's Life upstreaming proportion will be higher than last year’s. The holding company also has more financial room than before. The final decision will weigh peers, the prevailing share price, interest rates, and the holding company’s leverage headroom. So "will not fall behind" is a directional commitment, not a hard floor of 30%, 35% or 40% at this point. The next questions come from the Central News Agency. First, what health and wellness businesses will the Wellness Ecosystem invest in? When will the wellness residence be completed, on what scale, and will it be combined with insurance policies?
Second, why do you expect second half new contract CSM to be better? Is the full-year new contract CSM target still TWD 33 billion- TWD 35 billion, and how should we think about the hedge ratio? Management responses. On the wellness residences. For the former Land Bank Warehouse Site C wellness residence project, the architect has now been selected and planning is ongoing. The overall construction period is estimated at around six years, and management states clearly that the overall plan will be linked with insurance policies. On the CSM target and hedge ratio. The full-year new contract CSM target is unchanged at TWD 33 billion- TWD 35 billion. Second-half priorities include continued sales of investment-linked policies, a greater focus on A&H and high coverage products, participating policies, and premium financing for high asset clients.
On hedging, the ratio was around 40% at the end of June and around 30% most recently within a management range of roughly 20%-50%. The next questions come from the Commercial Times. First, will KGI Life set up a digital insurance company? Second, how do you view the macroeconomy in the second half? Is there any risk of rate hikes in the U.S. or Taiwan? Management responses. On a digital insurance company, management leans towards seeing no need to set one up separately. KGI Life already offers online insurance. Its multiple channels keep adopting digital innovation, and the functions a digital insurance company could provide can largely be delivered within the existing KGI Life system today. On rates and the macro outlook, the United States economic growth remains quite solid and strong, with AI an important growth driver.
CPI is still elevated, it has declined for several consecutive months. Even though Governor Warsh stressed the resolve to fight inflation at Jackson Hole, management believes that on a data dependent basis, a rate hike may not be needed at this point, though oil prices and war remain inflation risks. On rates and the macro outlook, Taiwan CPI has stayed above 2% for several months. Official forecasts put 2026 CPI at around 2.07% and 2027 at around 1.9%. Since inflation is expected to fall back below 2% next year, management believes the central bank may not necessarily need to raise rates to curb inflation. But if price pressures persist, other measures by the central bank cannot be ruled out. Our final questions come from the Economic Daily News. First, the earlier answer did not give a clear CSM growth rate.
How much do you actually hope CSM will grow this year? Second, will you add more real estate in the second half, and what is your strategy for equities and bonds? Management responses. On CSM growth, the company hopes to sustain double digit growth in CSM this year. The full-year new contract CSM target remains TWD 33 billion- TWD 35 billion and management notes that reaching TWD 35 billion would in itself represent double digit growth. On second half asset allocation, r eal estate: in the first half, besides the wellness project, we also added a logistics center investment. Whether we invest further will mainly depend on whether the location and yield meet our requirements. We continue to look at targets in the second half, but with no preset amount that must be added. On equities, the overall allocation direction is broadly similar to the first half.
Management remains positive on AI driven growth in Taiwan's economy, and even though the market will be volatile in the short term, we continue to favor equity investment opportunities. On bonds, to strengthen operating resilience as the foreign currency fixed income assets backing our NT dollar policies mature or pay interest, we will continue to repatriate part of those funds to Taiwan. That concludes today's Q&A. Thank you everyone for joining KGI Financial Holding's earnings call.