E. Sun buys Kaohsiung Business Bank

E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), which has Prudential Plc as its second-largest shareholder, agreed to buy bankrupt Kaohsiung Business Bank (高雄企銀) for NT$13.4 billion (US$400.7 million) from the government, a government official said.

"E.Sun Commercial Bank won the bid for Kaohsiung Bank's good bank assets," Lai Wen-hsien (賴文獻), executive vice president at the Ministry of Finance's Central Deposit Insurance Corp (中央存保), said in a telephone interview.

He declined to disclose how many bids were received for the bank.

Central Deposit Insurance, which helps supervise the failed lender, invited another round of bidding for the bank after failing to sell it in December. The finance ministry seized control of Kaohsiung Bank in January 2002 after it posted losses for four consecutive years.

Taiwanese banks, insurers and financial companies, prodded by the government, are ditching nonpaying debtors, seeking partners and expanding into related businesses to become more competitive.

Taiwan has about 50 domestic lenders vying for customers.

E.Sun Commercial Bank is the commercial banking arm of E.Sun Financial Holdings Co (玉山金控), which offers brokerage, commercial and retail banking services. Taipei-based E.Sun Financial spokesman Du Wu-lin (杜武林) was not available for immediate comment yesterday.